How many Miles to Babylon
by sparkstarthetrashcan
Summary: Miles has been kidnapped and taken halfway across the world by Hydra. He has no one to help him, a growing paranoia of everything and everyone around him and a fear of what could happen to all his friends and family. How can he get home when the odds are impossibly stacked against him?
1. Chapter 1

I looked down at the math question, one hand cushioning my chin and the other one fiddling with my pen.

I stared at it, caught between frustration and exhaustion. I knew how to do it, I did damnit! Except my brain had decided to shut down and go 'ha! Good luck doing anything without me.' I groaned and thumped my head a few times against the book. We, Ganke and I, were sitting in our shared dorm working through our homework. I was lounging on my bed while Ganke was at the desk. It was around nine at night.

"How're you doing?" Ganke told me, oh so helpfully, in an annoying, teasing voice.

I turned my head just enough to glare at him, and he laughed. "What do you think?" I hissed.

"Look, if you need some help-"

"No, nope, I can do this question thank you very much. It's just my brain has forgotten that." I said, thumping my head against it one more time for good measure.

Ganke leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. "Did you do that Spanish homework? It's due tomorrow."

I sat up and looked at him in alarm, "What homework?"

"Where we have to translate a bunch of sentences? No?" I shook my head, "If you give me five bucks you can copy off me." I dug around in my wallet with a grumble and flicked some coins over in his direction. He gave me a huge, smug grin, "Pleasure doing business with you."

As I went to attempt the math problem again a phone pinged and we both went for our phones. Ganke found his first and read aloud, "There's a… giant bee monster destroying stuff by Times Square. You want to go fight it?"

"'Course I do. Are the Ultimates there?" I asked as I shoved my homework into a bag. I grabbed my costume and began quickly tugging off my clothes in a hurry to get down there before someone else had taken care of it. I struggled to tug off my hoodie, and for a moment I was stuck before I finally got it over my head.

"Nup, not yet." I nodded and pulled my costume on, it didn't take me long to and I was pulling the window up in under a minute.

"See ya, I'll be back in… two hours or so. Bye!" I yelled over my shoulder as I jumped out the window. I rapidly swung in the direction of Manhattan, keeping an ear out for alarmed cries. It would be annoying to stop for a robbery or something but the Ultimates should be on the way to help out with the bee monster thing. Plus, it was sort of in my job description to help out with small crimes. I couldn't ignore them like the Ultimates might. I knew they were 'better' heroes than me and had bigger fish to fry, but it couldn't hurt them to help out with the smaller stuff every once in a while.

Sure enough, when I was nearing Times Square I heard a shout: "someone get him! He stole my purse!"

I swung down lower, easily spotting the guy running with a woman's purse in his hands. I dropped down in front of him and webbed his feet to the ground. His momentum carried him forward and he faceplanted with a shout of alarm, followed by a groan. I grabbed the bag and walked towards the woman who had been frantically running after him.

"Here. Will you call the police to collect him?" I asked as I handed over the bag. She was puffing pretty hard but managed to nod.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Thank you so much." She said, rummaging around in her bag and pulling out a phone.

I stepped back and did a mini-salute before continuing to swing towards the scene of the fight. When I was close enough I jumped onto a ledge to look at the fight, wanting to at least get an idea of what I would be dealing with before jumping into the middle of it.

The Ultimates had arrived at the scene and as I leaned forward to get the full scope of the action I saw Iron Man fly up and punch the monster in the face before swerving out of the way as it tried to hit him. It was followed by Captain America's shield hitting its side and it roared in pain. It looked like I could get in on the action without overcrowding since I couldn't see at least three of the Ultimates. They were probably on crowd control.

Feeling more confident, I jumped off the roof and swung towards the fight. "Hey everyone!" I yelled, getting a web on the monster's side and swinging myself around it in hopes of slowing it down.

"Careful kid, that stinger packs a lot of punch!" I heard one of them yell, followed by an arrow narrowly missing me and digging itself into the creatures back. A moment later it exploded causing the bee monster to roar in rage. Hawkeye.

I jumped over the creature's head, grabbing its antennas for a few seconds so it would focus in on me instead of Hawkeye. I let go of it and a few moments before I hit the ground I turned around and shot a web at one of its legs. It tried to follow where I was going so I swung under its body and I let go of the web so I could land safely with a roll.

I took a couple of steps back, watching in amazement as the scene unfolded in front of me. Hawkeye was grappling himself between buildings while shooting at it. Iron Man was zipping around the creature and zapping it every few seconds. Captain America was shouting orders as he kept it from causing major collateral damage. I could now see Black Widow herding people away. By the looks of it, Thor and Hulk hadn't been called in yet. I couldn't see Spiderwoman either but I could hear the faint sounds of thwipping a street or so over.

I looked at my hands for a moment before deciding.

"Cap! I'm taking this thing down! Get ready!" I yelled. He looked up and a few moments later he gave me the thumbs up. Grinning to myself, I jumped at its back. I tapped it then jumped away from it and stuck myself to the side of a building.

"Three, two, one," I whispered before suddenly the bee monster went ridged as the venom blast took a hold and it fell to the ground with a loud 'thump' that shook the ground. Once it hit the ground I went to web it up, but Iron Man flew in front of me.

"No need for your webs kid. SHIELD's got this. You can swing off and do whatever." He said dismissively.

I remembered Cap giving me the go-ahead, of Hawkeye's comradery. I had helped. I had! Sometimes I felt like I was being underestimated, and it sucked, plain and simple. I felt a stab of bitterness flood through me like poison.

In the end, who had knocked the monster over? Not Tony. Me. Spider-man. He'd get to take all the credit, I knew he would. The fact he was so dismissive made my stomach twist with something I didn't want to admit was anger and jealousy. I was tired of being overlooked. I opened my mouth, a snarky remark forming on my tongue. Then I thought the better of it. "Alright, uh, bye!" I yelled over my shoulder as I began to web myself away, beginning to mutter under my breath.

I didn't even get a thank you. Hah. I just did their job for them and they hadn't had the decency to say a single word of gratitude. Wow. So much for being role models.

I landed on the side of a building. Now that I had fought that bee monster thingy, I was toying with the idea of going on patrol. Maybe I could burn off some of this... I wouldn't call it anger. I knew I had that Spanish homework due tomorrow but…I would much prefer to do this. I mean, Ganke was going to let me copy off him anyway. What was the harm? And a break from my math homework would help me get back on track.

I jumped away, heading in the general direction of where I normally patrolled and wondered what I would find tonight. Mostly petty theft I suspected, maybe some murder attempts. Who knows? I would just have to find out. That was the exciting part.

A rush of exhilaration swept through me as I swung high into the air. I let go of the web I was hanging onto and thwiped another web, where it landed on the side of a building. Just before I touched the ground, I pulled myself up, propelling myself forward and up.

Nothing could beat the feeling of swinging through New York City, with my only concern being helping the people I'd sworn to protect.

With a final swing, I landed neatly on the top of a rooftop. Smiling under my mask, I went and sat on the ledge, looking around. I was pretty lucky to be where I was now. I was going to a good school, I had these amazing powers and a great friend. I mean, it was annoying when the Ultimates didn't acknowledge me but that was to be expected?

I took a deep breath, letting the cool night air fill my lungs. I felt calm now, relaxed. Travelling through New York at night, with the buildings lit up like blazing stars, always helped me to relax when I was upset.

A loud bang ripped me from my thoughts. Immediately I got up, looking around for the source of the sound. Just a few shops down I saw a man with a gun in one hand and a large bag slung over the other running away from the source of the sound. I couldn't help but smirk. I mean, did they never look up? I was right here.

I jumped down, swinging directly towards the robber. Before he knew what was happening, I kicked him in the face. He fell, giving me the opportunity to grab the bag and back away as he stumbled to his feet.

"Hey, Mr Robber, what's in here?" I asked, faking curiosity with an ignorant tilt of my head. He made a swipe at the bag, which I dodged. "No snatching! Where are your manners?" I wagged my finger in front of his faced and tsked.

He seemed to remember what he was still holding and aimed his gun at me, pointing it directly at my chest. I whistled, pretending to be shocked for a moment. "Put the bag down and no one gets hurt!" He yelled, but from the way his hands were shaking, I could tell this was probably his first time. Or maybe it was my awesome costume, who knows?

I thwiped a web to cover up the gun before it could shoot, and then a second later he was stuck to the wall. His eyes widened in horror.

"You know, for a robber, you should know that threats never actually go anywhere." I chided him, looking around to see the shopkeeper standing a safe distance away. I approached them and passed them the bag. "Here you go."

They smiled, "Thanks, Spider-man, I owe you one."

"That's okay, just doing my job," I smiled, even though they probably couldn't see it. Sirens were quickly approaching, heading straight towards us. "That's my cue!" I called over my shoulder before crawling up the side of the building and beginning to swing away.

* * *

I was casually swinging around the side of a building when my spider-sense blared so badly that I almost lost my grip on my web. I maneuvered myself so I landed on a lamppost where I promptly stood up and looked around for what was causing it to go haywire.

It suddenly spiked and I managed to dodge a bullet just in time. I looked down to where it was buried in the ground, finding it to not be a bullet at all but in fact some sort of... tranquilliser... I felt a wave of panic begin to rise within me as I began to piece together what might be happening.

My spider-sense blared at me again and I flipped out of the way as multiple bullets - no tranquillisers - tried to hit me. They were shooting at me in a suburban region, someone could easily get hurt! My fear was replaced by anger, fuelled by the protective instinct danger brought out in me. Again my spider-sense spiked and I jumped out of the way of yet another bullet.

Determined, I swung towards the rooftop where I thought the shooter was. I camouflaged and walked forward, keeping my eyes peeled for movement. I heard a sound similar to a walkie-talkie and ran in that direction. I finally spotted the shooter hiding behind a vent, gun tucked up against him. I ran towards him, flipped over the vent and kicked him in the face. I wasted no time to hit him with a venom blast and he cried out in pain. I used that moment to web him to a wall.

I walked up to him, letting my camouflaged meltaway. I was about to ask him why he was shooting at me when my spider-sense once again went off and I turned around to find five men surrounding me with guns in hand. Not only that they seemed armed to the teeth with weapons. And I could see a badge on all of their suits. It was a red skull with octopus arms coming out of it.

Fear trickled down my spine and wrapped me in a vice-like embrace. I recognised that symbol. I laughed nervously, I knew I was in trouble.

These were Hydra agents.

It was obvious that they were after me because their attention was solely focused on me. They weren't shooting at me with bullets either, but with tranquillisers, so they obviously wanted me alive for whatever they were going to do. And that was all kinds of terrifying.

I heard one of them bark a few orders, and I slowly lifted my hands up above my head. "Please don't shoot, I really don't want to be littered with holes," I mumbled, dropping my chin to my chest as I fought down the nauseating fear that came with being surrounded by Hydra agents. The group began to slowly move closer, forming a tighter circle around me. I pursed my lips, hoping I would make it out alive as I got ready to make an escape.

If I was hurt, I was only a block or two away from Ganke, right? He could help stitch me up, right?

Before I could hesitate a second longer, I jumped up and over the heads of the agents. Several tranquillisers whizzed past me, one getting lucky and burying itself in my thigh. Adrenaline pumped through me, numbing the pain enough for me to not cry out. Still flying through the air, I reached down and yanked it out before all of the liquid could get into my system. I held on to the tranquilliser and shot a web with my free hand.

I pulled myself along as quickly as I could, landing on a building with a roll before running and jumping on to the next. I was sprinting as fast as I could, heart pounding in fear. I had to get back to school to hopefully wear off whatever was in that thing.

But then I remembered that there would be students in there sleeping. If I went in there then the Hydra agents would follow. I couldn't put that many people at risk! I skidded to slow down before turning to my left and racing that way.

I was running like a wild, scared animal. My movements were frantic, erratic and ultimately stupid. I couldn't do that, I had to be smarter about all of this. I was drugged, I had no idea what it was going to do to me (though I was pretty sure it was going to knock me out) and if I just kept running they would be able to track me. I could break into a place and ask for help but who knew if they would help me or reveal my location and identity.

I dropped down into an alleyway and sat down against the brick. I had to make a choice, potentially give up my identity, hopefully hide somewhere where they won't find me or run until I pass out. I looked at the dumpster next to me. That should work.

As I was climbing in I noticed that my movements were quickly becoming more and more sluggish. I was about to close the lid when I heard a "Spidey?"

Someone rushed over to me. I couldn't focus on what they looked like which was all kinds of bad.

"What happened? Why are you climbing into here?" They asked urgently.

"Hydra, run, call... call the Ultimates," I managed to slur out, eyes drooping. God, I wish the ultimates were here.

They were pulling out what I assumed was their phone when there was a loud noise and they looked up in alarm. A shape grabbed them and I was too weak to even try and defend them. My companion was shoved to the side and they took off running.

'Smart thinking,' I thought hazily. One of the attackers was reaching to grab me and I tried to fend them off, maybe elbow them in the side, but unconsciousness swallowed me up before I even had the chance. My head hit the trash in the dumpster a moment later and I knew nothing more.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a roaring all around me, like a loud wind but not like one of the many monsters I had fought in my time. My head felt like it was swirling and I didn't want to open my eyes to see if it actually was. Cause I felt sick to my stomach and I was sure if I did I might vomit. My heart was pounding in what felt like panic but I was too out of it properly understand why.

God, I never felt this out of it. Was I drugged? Maybe I was with the Ultimates. I could feel small aches and pains all over my body so maybe I had gotten hurt in a fight...?

Another wave of nausea passed through me and I stopped trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with me. I felt terrible, and I would leave it at that.

The roaring was still loud as hell, making it harder to focus on anything else that was happening in my surroundings. I wanted to cover my ears but my muscles felt like jelly. At the same time, it felt like I wrapped in a tight, warm blanket. Trying to send me back to sleep. My fingers twitched a little as I tried to put in some effort to do something. To maybe cover my eyes when I opened them so that any light wouldn't be blinding.

There was a coldness beneath me that I suddenly noticed, contrasting with the warmth I felt all over me. That was weird. Where was I? The ultimates would have put me on a bed I'm sure...

I began to hear some voices nearby to me. I struggled to hear them over the roaring and my focus kept on wavering but with some effort, I managed to.

"I don't see... important... waste of..." In my muddled state, I could only listen in confusion at what I managed to pick up. They could be talking about anything from plastic to a person. They didn't sound like anyone I knew though. A doctor maybe? Why would something be a 'waste of' to them?

My fingers twitched again and I managed to curl them in a little bit. Something was telling me I had to wake up as quickly as I could, but I couldn't remember at that point why. But there was a chill going up my spine like something was seriously wrong.

"He's waking up!" Someone shouted and I cringed. My ears were sensitive, even more so with that roaring, didn't they know that?

"He wasn't supposed to wake up for another four hours." Someone said and that definitely made me struggle for wakefulness. I curled my fingers in further and tried to bring my hand to my chest but my hand was still too numb to do anything except weakly twitch. I managed to open my eyes a crack but my vision was too blurry to make anything out.

Then all my work to wake up was for nothing as I heard some buttons being pressed. I quickly sunk back into unconsciousness.

* * *

I slowly came to myself, feeling fuzzy and almost refreshed. It was as if I had had the best nap ever.

I began to stretch as I woke up further, only to find that I couldn't move my arms or legs, or my chest all that much. I frowned, that was weird.

I opened my eyes only to cringe away from the light beaming into my eyes and groaned. The light felt like needles being stabbed into my eyes. Ow. I hesitated for a few moments before turning my head to the side and tried opening my eyes again. The light was still painful but more bearable as my eyes adjusted. When they finally did I found myself staring at a blank wall. There were no markings, not a poster or colour, it was just a cream wall. That was not my wall.

That quickly made me shake off any last remains scraps of tiredness. I tried to quickly sit up but was stopped by something digging into my ribs, making me yelp in pain. I tried to sit up on my elbows but my wrists and biceps were stuck in place. I tried to tug on it one more time but it just tightened on me until I was forced to give up if I didn't want to hurt myself. I looked to my right and found a door. If I hadn't been looking for some imperfections in my surroundings I wouldn't have noticed the tiny cracks in the wall indicating a door. There was no place to put a key in or a keypad. There was nothing else but the cracks in the door.

Panic rising quickly, I pushed myself up as far as I could in my position. There was some weird sort of rope keeping me held down. It looked like leather but it had to be reinforced in some way for it to not break under my strength. Both my arms and legs were held down in two places to keep them from being of any use, and only one across my chest. The one on my chest was slightly looser than the other two, which I was guessing was to stop it from tightening too much when I was breathing.

By this point, I had remembered what had happened to me the night before. Or, the night before as far as I was aware. I had no idea how long I had been kept under for, and unless I was told or given some sort of clock I doubted I would ever find out.

I couldn't believe Hydra had managed to get the jump on me. Why hadn't my spider-sense been good enough to dodge whatever they had thrown at me? Why hadn't the Ultimates come to help me? There was no way that someone hadn't reported what had happened. Active shooters in New York had to be big news.

I should have just run away at the first sign of danger. Gone to the Ultimates and asked for help. They would have protected me and I wouldn't be in this situation. I shouldn't have let my self-imposed code to look after New York and its people first get the better of me. There hadn't been a person in sight wandering the streets.

Now because of my failings, I was god knows where strapped down to a table and utterly vulnerable to whatever Hydra wanted to do to me.

I put my head back down, trying to calm down my erratic breathing. As my head touched the admittedly soft surface I realised that there was no barrier between the cotton and my head. They had taken my mask off. They probably knew my identity. Would they go after my family? I had to stop them from hurting anyone I knew. Oh god, they might go after my parents and Ganke.

But I couldn't panic now, if I did then I might not be able to escape from here and then where would I be at? But... who knew what they were going to do to me? Were they going to cut me open and figure out how I worked? That's the only reason I could think of for them wanting me.

Before I could panic further I heard the door open. I looked to the side as she stepped in, the door closing behind her without her even looking back at it. At this point, I was guessing someone opened it externally. Her high heels clicked against the stone floor as she approached me. She was wearing a grey jacket with matching pants and a white shirt, looking for all the world like a high ranking, professional woman. She also had a clipboard in hand, which she was reading instead of observing me. From this point on I was going to call her heel lady. 'Cause of her high heels obviously. Was she the doctor that was going to head the experiments? Or was she just tasked with telling me about my fate?

She finally looked up, and for a few moments, she watched as I tried to calm down my breathing into something that seemed normal. Instead of the panic that I was so obviously in. I was pretty sure she could tell how scared I was.

"Hello Mr Morales, you have been selected for our first super-soldier program. Don't be afraid, as none of our experiments will be fatal or severely harmful to you. Here at Hydra, we want you to feel comfortable and secure, but as you're an enhanced individual I have to warn you that if you try to escape we'll be forced to use other... more dangerous methods to extract the information and results we need. Do you have any questions?" She asked, her voice neutral and almost bored as she talked.

I mean, it was just another job that she was required to do so maybe that's why it wasn't a big deal to her. For me, this was a huge deal. Whatever she told me would be a clue to my possibly short future. It also gave me a chance to study the attitude that Hydra would have with me which would hopefully give me something to work with.

"Yeah, why was I chosen?" I asked, trying to hide my fear but failing still.

"You have proven to show a lot of potential, and as you are still developing your skill-set you were the easiest of all the known enhanced individuals to bring in." She replied. Okay, that made sense 'cause most of the other heroes had some form of training or teammates to rely on. But that was also kind of rude. I mean, really? 'Easiest to bring in,' c'mon. Just cause I was young and new to the superhero world didn't mean I was crap at it.

"People will search for me, you know. I bet the Ultimates will too!" I argued, trying to pull out of my bonds even though I knew it was beyond useless. It still didn't budge.

"They will find it exceptionally hard to locate you." She answered calmly.

I stopped struggling, so what she was saying was that I would have to look after myself and try not to piss them off if I wanted to survive. But who knew what they wanted to do to me? Maybe it would be better if I tried escaping before they could do anything bad to me, but I might die a pretty painful death. I didn't know what I was supposed to do...

"What about my parents? And my friends? What have you done to them?" I asked, looking back at her. If they also had them and were going to hurt them-

"They are perfectly fine. We have not gone after them or harmed them in any way." She seemed bored at this point, like she had something much better to do than listen to a terrified fourteen year old.

"Um, and you don't plan on going after them at any point?" I asked, trying to crush down both my hopefulness for their safety and the hopelessness of my own situation. It was a weird combination that left me feeling drained.

"No, however, unless they join our cause they will not be able to see you. Any other questions?" I wondered for a moment. I didn't really want to know when they would start experimenting with me because that would only make me anxious. I was glad to learn about my parents being safe but from the sounds of it, I wouldn't be allowed to ever see them again. Which I knew that sometime later I was going to be pretty scared about but for the moment I could only note down the information.

I just felt really drained. Yeah, I really didn't like this place at all.

"No, I think I'm good." I murmured looking back up at the ceiling.

"Good. Your first experiment will be a reflex test and it will be conducted tomorrow at seven am."

With that, she walked out of the room with a confident, clicking stride. Damnit I didn't want to know what was going to happen but it did give me an idea of what they planned to do with me. It looked like they intended to test and push my abilities to the breaking point, and since it was a 'super-soldier program' maybe they planned on giving some of their other soldiers my abilities? It did make sense, especially if they intended on getting other victims.

And she had said 'first super-soldier' so there would probably be more joining me in this hell.

I closed my eyes, I didn't want to think about it, I didn't want to think about my fate. I didn't want to think about what this would mean for other super-heroes. I would sleep, but after being unconscious for that long I was well rested. I couldn't stand up and look for weak points in this room so I would have to be stuck in my own thoughts...

Just as I sighed in defeat the bonds suddenly popped open. That had _not_ been my doing. I sat up immediately and distractedly rubbed my wrists, okay so did they just pin me down to make sure I didn't escape right off the bat? To stop me hurting heel lady? I was guessing that was the case, but they would have to be pretty confident that I wouldn't be able to escape if they were letting me get up...

But I would potentially be here awhile. I didn't mean how they were obviously going to do a bunch of tests on me so I would probably have to leave this room. I meant how long it would be before I would be able to escape. If I managed to escape. I was just as likely to die here before I ever got to see the sun again.

I looked down at my hands and noticed that my gloves were gone, and my webshooters. They weren't taking any chances huh. My gloves and mask were the only loose part of my suit so I guess that made sense. I was still in the rest of it though, which was sort of odd. I was just glad that someone hadn't made me change while I was unconscious. I looked back at my hand and noticed that my wrist was a bit bruised. Probably from tugging so hard. Maybe I had been doing that in my sleep as well...

Whatever, it didn't matter too much. They would heal up pretty soon.

I cautiously swung my legs out and tenderly checked that they were fine. Besides feeling a little like jelly they seemed fine. No cuts in my costumes. That was good. I checked my chest and it looked fine too, if a little-scuffed up. I couldn't see my face, there weren't any mirrors in the room but when I ran my hands over my neck and head there was only one bruise that ached. They hadn't hurt me...

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and finally got up. I immediately headed over to the door. When I ran a finger over it trying to find any nooks or crannies there weren't. The only notable thing about it was how it was smooth and cool to touch.

I slowly began to walk around the room, nothing in my road as the bed was in the centre of the room, and found everything to have that same feel to it. There didn't seem to be any weaknesses in it and from my guess, it was made out of metal. Made sense, I was a superhuman and I had super strength. They didn't want me breaking out so they would have to make it out of something besides brick so I wouldn't break through it.

But that also meant when I try to escape I won't be able to smash through walls. Whatever, it would be fine. I would do it. I clenched a fist at my side. I would escape no matter what they tried to do to me. I didn't know how, I didn't have the resources - yet, I didn't have the strength it seemed.

Even if I had to play into the narrative they would set before me I would escape. But I would do it if it meant escaping and seeing my parents again. I didn't want to be another tool for Hydra to use.


	3. Chapter 3

That morning I was woken up by a loud noise, like something being smashed against metal. I jumped and sat up, noting that I hadn't been restrained with the bonds while I was sleeping. Was that a guard who had done that? What the hell. Just get me a normal alarm instead of that. It's too early to have adrenaline racing through me.

I rubbed my eyes, feeling unprepared and tired as I remembered that I was supposed to be doing a reflex test. I sat there a moment, feeling a sort of dread and helplessness flooding through me. I didn't want to wake up, I wanted to go back to sleep and wake up back in the dorm with Ganke. I wanted to be told this was all a nightmare but it wasn't. I knew that. And now I was at the mercy of Hydra and I wanted to live. But what would they make me do? When would they decide I'm too much of a nuisance and kill me?

I sighed and looked around, noticing something new in the room. A chair and a desk, and there were some clothes on it. I looked down at my costume, which I was still wearing. I didn't exactly want to stay in it, it had dried sweat on it and it felt kind of gross but without my costume, I would lose another piece of home. Also, it would make it harder to keep my secret identity if... or when, I escaped. Wait my mask was gone already anyway so it probably didn't even matter if I had my costume anyway.

Still, the door had closed behind the heel lady and I had a feeling there were cameras in here. I did not feel comfortable at all just changing willy-nilly. I wanted to keep _some_ privacy at least...

I looked down at my lap. They would probably force me in some other manner to take it off. Couldn't have the prisoner allowed any rights or else they might start rebelling, right? At least they had been decent enough to just... put it there in a more subtle nudge to do it. I gave in with a defeated sigh and got up.

The t-shirt and pants were booth loose but not baggy, an ugly brown-cream colour and there was a Hydra symbol on my shoulder. It made me angry and sad that I had to walk around wearing it. I sat back down on the bed and just sat there, trying not to think.

There was a click and the door swung open. Heel lady stepped in and was followed by four other people. They were wearing militaristic like clothing and they had some type of helmet that was covering their face. Each of them were holding what looked like a baton but there were some buttons on the handle which made me pretty sure they did more than just... hit. Heel lady was unchanged besides the colour of her clothes. She still had that damn clipboard and that bored look to her face.

The door shut behind the group before I could even think to try and escape. I knew it probably would have been useless anyway but the thought was there and it made me feel confident enough to openly glower at the group.

Again, Heel lady studied her notes for a minute before looking back up at me and beginning to speak.

"Good morning Mr Morales, today you will be participating in two experiments which will be repeated two or three times in the coming weeks to test the outcome of the experiment. The tests today are reflex and camouflage. This will not only give an insight into the extent of your ability to us but also to yourself. If you try to escape between here and the testing room you will be tasered and given a harsh punishment. Is this all understood?"

Theory confirmed, they were more than just batons.

"Uh, yeah. Are there cameras in here?" I asked, adding on the question before she could continue. It would help me with escaping... and would also help me feel more comfortable.

She paused for a moment, studying me. "Yes, but they are infra-red unless we believe you are doing something suspicious." Huh, so maybe I could try and do something that looks perfectly fine but actually gives me an advantage to escape. Duly noted. "Let's get these tests over and done with, shall we?"

* * *

I was roughly shoved into a metal room by one of the guards, and I stumbled and nearly fell over from the treatment. I turned around to tell them that that was just unnecessary, I wasn't planning on fighting back yet, but by the time I had turned around the door had already been slammed in my face. I hit the door once, wanting to do more or even try and escape, but I knew it might not even be possible. I huffed in annoyance.

Maybe it was good I hadn't had the chance to blurt anything, if I kept quiet I could maybe stop myself from giving away too much. I had to keep any and all cards close to my chest.

I turned around and walked into the room. It was fairly big, about the size of two basketball courts put side by side. The ceiling was the height you would expect for a basketball court to be too. They weren't messing around, huh. There were cracks in the wall similar to the door in my room. It began to dawn on me would this 'reflex test' would entail.

"Welcome to the testing room, subject one." A voice said. The voice sounded female, and their tone was superficial and fake. I wonder who's voice this was. How much were they paid to sound this fake? I would never know, and in the meantime, I would find it grating and annoying. When I looked around for the source of the sound, finding four small speakers in the corners of the room.

Wait, subject one? Crap they were definitely thinking about expanding this project. I... I couldn't let that happen. God, I felt so hopeless.

The voice in the ceiling continued, bringing me out of my thoughts."In this room, all your powers will be thoroughly tested and stretched to their limits. This room will also serve as a training room where you will be taught to fight until such a time when there are other subjects."

Wait, taught to fight? First of all, I knew how to fight. Second off, why the heck would they be training me to fight? I was just a prisoner, there was no way they would make me into a soldier-...

No way, I was never going to become a soldier for them. I would rather die.

"Your first test will be on your reflexes. Get ready in three," Oh wait it was going to be like this, "two," this was probably going to hurt, "one."

I barely dodged a bullet aimed at my face. It sailed past my cheek and hit the wall, causing a loud _**bang**_ that echoed around the room. I looked at the small dent in the wall with wide eyes, if I got hit by one of these it was going to _hurt_. I didn't think it would be fatal, but I could be seriously hurt if I was hit by one of those in the wrong place. It could maybe even break a bone! Luckily it wasn't a real bullet, 'cause it looked like a rubber one to me, so I wouldn't actually die if I was too slow.

Guess they weren't kidding about the ' _non-fatal-experiments-unless-I-tried-to-escape_ ,' except for the part where that _made a dent_ in the _metal_.

Wait, if that had been able to create a dent, maybe I could too?

My spider-sense spiked and I easily dodged one aimed at my side. A second later another one tried to get me from the front. Then half a second later one was aimed at my legs. The bullets got quicker and quicker, aiming at me from random places around the room. It got to the point where I was having to jump on the ceiling and flip around just to avoid getting hit. My spider-sense was helpful in spotting where they would be coming from, but it was quickly growing overwhelmed.

It was only inevitable that a stray bullet hit me, and it got me in the shoulder. I cried out, only just managing to avoid another bullet before hunching over, arm loosely hovering over where I got hit. I was expecting another barrage of bullets to hit me while I was down but instead, my spider-sense went quiet. It had all stopped.

"You lasted for six minutes and twenty-three seconds, good job. Your next reflex test will be conducted in seven days," the voice in the ceiling told me. I frowned, I didn't think they would actually tell me how well I would do but I guess it was a good thing.

I heard a door open and I looked back from where I was still kneeling to see a guy walking in. He was wearing a lab coat, had a beard and glasses, and was holding what looked like a tablet or iPad. Underneath his clothes, he was wearing clothing that struck a match between casual and professional. He had a soft smile on his face and I immediately felt distrust well up inside of me.

"Hello Miles," this guy was definitely British, "well done with your test." I already hated him. I was on the floor clearly in a bit of pain and this guy was giving me "trustworthy and sympathetic" looks. If he actually was any of that he would be helping me get out of here, instead of helping Hydra. What a prick.

He clapped his hands together, "now with your next test, we'll be looking at your camouflage ability. It's quite fascinating I must say. Now while you do it we're going to hook you up to a few machines and take your blood before, during and after it. Now, do you know how long you can camouflage for, or is there no time frame you have to limit yourself to?"

"Uh," I didn't want to give him anything to work with, didn't want to give Hydra anything to work with but... my camouflage did have a limit which sucked. I could pass out and if he didn't know why he might do something invasive. "Yeah, if I camouflage for too long it hurts. I normally have a few minutes to do it before I need to take a break."

"Brilliant. Now come along the set up is just over here." Low and behold a section of the wall lifted up and there was a chair with fancy machines surrounding it. There were a few things I recognised like a heart monitor but besides that, I had no idea. I wish I knew so I could understand better how much feedback he would actually get on it, and by extension, me.

I got up, thankfully finding that the pain had gone down to a smaller ache. Distracting but I could move past it and camouflage. He beckoned me over to sit in the chair and, after a bit of hesitation, I sat in it. I didn't have much of a choice anyway. But... how would they force me to use my ability if I resisted? I guess that's why they brought this guy in, 'cause he was supposed to be cheery enough to make me trust him enough not to think or worry about that.

Wasn't working, cause I was pretty sure this guy is a dick.

He hurried around, attaching weird devices to my hands and fingers and collected some blood from my elbow. I watched him with a wary but passive eye, trying not to rebel or stop him. I didn't want to find out how Hydra would punish me for that.

After he was done setting everything up he turned to me and said, "alright so if you can camouflage for as long as possible that would be great. I'm going to be wearing some weird looking goggles so I can see you and take your blood during the test but don't worry about it. If you feel like you're about to pass out, you did say that after some time you're in pain so that's a possibility, stop using your ability and then I'll get some more blood. Is that all good with you?"

"Um yeah, sure," I said, trying to keep my irritation from bleeding into my voice.

"Alright so if you can start in three, two, one... and here we go." I forced myself to camouflage.

He kept quiet, not even commenting on it which surprised me. I was allowed to sit there idly and tap my fingers.

This seemed so surreal to me. I thought Hydra would kill me and dissect me but they seemed more interested in finding out about my powers in humane ways. Like, they were actually using the scientific method as far as I could tell. I guess they really did want me to be a soldier to them, willingly. It was so bizarre. Not that I was actually going to do anything for them.

Well, I guess I was by going along with this but I didn't want to die so this was all I could do. But my line stopped at working for them.

"Okay I'm now going to take some of your blood, has the pain started yet?" the doctor asked, grabbing out another needle and slowly inserting it in the same spot.

"No, it's all normal for me right now," I said, watching the syringe as it filled up with blood. It almost looked like it was floating, but it didn't look like it was actually floating to me because I could see a faint outline of myself. To anyone else, it would look like the needle head was disappearing. The thought almost made me laugh, imagining something randomly moving around in midair. Shame I couldn't play a prank on someone, 'cause Ganke would know it was me if I even tried and I couldn't give away my secret identity.

He took the syringe out and put the blood in a small container and threw the needle head away. As he was checking some machines he said, "Let me know when it starts to hurt. If you can, rank it from one to ten, one being a prick and ten being you're being burned alive." I nodded.

A few minutes later I finally began to hurt. It was a numbing sensation that spread all over my body before it slowly began to ache. "Yeah, it's painful now. Probably a two or three at this stage."

He nodded and settled down, noting something down on his tablet before he began to draw something as he waited. Fair enough, it had been about three or four minutes at this stage and his job was more or less to monitor and reassure me. It was boring, no doubt.

"It's gone up to about a five," I said, the ache really beginning to hurt now. It sucked, let me tell you. I hated it.

"You can tap out at any point," he said, looking at where I was. I shrugged. When it got to a seven I would. I guess I _could_ drop out at any point and mess with the results and my average but whatever.

One minute later as I began to feel dizzy from the pain I said, "I'm done," and let myself become visible again. He got up and hurried around, quickly taking some of my blood. After he was done and had taken off all the equipment attached to me, he smiled at me. It looked like he was going for sincere but he looked just as fake as Heel lady. I resisted the urge to glare at him.

"You did great at that! I'll tell you anything interesting we find out once we've got the results back. Have a good sleep and I'll see you tomorrow for more tests."

Damnit.

Actions


	4. Chapter 4

I was sitting against the wall of my cell, feeling bored and tired. And it was a cell, even though there were no bars and they had removed the straps to hold me down. I didn't really see the point in that. I mean, if I got violent all of a sudden it would help to have something to keep me down. They might gas me or get some men to hold me down instead and I did not want that. I was assuming they had done it to show they had more trust in me. Which I didn't care for, I was still god knows where and trapped. I just wanted to get out of this place.

After the two tests they had brought me back here to find that they had moved my bed into a corner and the desk now had a few things on it, but I hadn't bothered to look. The rest of the room was bare, so I had made it a point to sit as far away from anything as I could. So, by extension, I was on the ceiling. Upside down. I hadn't been comfortable enough to fall asleep so I had just stayed there.

No matter how nice they might treat me they still only wanted me for my abilities. They only thought of me as another assist in their... evil plans. They probably wouldn't allow me to see Ganke or Mum or Dad again. They wouldn't let me hang out with kids my own age or let me have a childhood. I wanted a normal life. I liked being Spider-man, yeah, but it wasn't all of who I am. It swallowed up a lot of my life but that didn't mean everything evolved around it. It wasn't the sum of who I am.

But Hydra didn't understand that, or they did and they just didn't care.

There was a click and the door slid open. I looked up from my lap and watched as the heel lady walked in with a whole bunch of stuff stacked up in her hands, her face was contorted to look neutral but I could see a small scowl waiting to push through. Instead of the normal clipboard she normally had, she had a large stack of books that almost covered her head. So maybe that scowl was from the weight of all of it? That many books had to be painful for any normal human. Or, maybe they weren't books at all. Maybe they were some sort of test or medical or something. I don't know. But I was pretty sure they were books. I didn' know why I was doubting that they weren't books but you never knew with Hydra.

Why were they giving me books in the first place though? Weird. Guess I would find out.

It still looked strange to see her without a clipboard and for her not to study me in that weird, uncomfortable way she liked to do. Everything else about her was the same, the same uniform, the same clicking heels, the haircut. Everything but the clipboard and it made her look so different. It was probably impractical to carry all those books and the clipboard but it made her seem so different. Gave her an entirely different air. Who knew a clipboard could make such a difference?

Or maybe I was just tired and my muddled mind was making it up.

"Good morning Mr Morales. Sorry for the wait, but we had to sort out a few things." She pressed her elbow into the wall where it sunk in a little bit. She took a small step back and suddenly there was a tiny table coming out of the wall.

What.

She placed all the stuff down on it before straightening back up and looking up at me with a faint scowl. Guess she was used to looking down on people. "As part of the super soldier program, we will continue your education and expand it to cover topics such as weaponry, strategy, first-aid and survival. It will also cover fighting techniques such as martial arts. A tutor will be coming in a couple of days to begin teaching you, but in the meantime, you can begin your studies with these books. Do you have any questions?"

"Um, yeah, I thought I was just a super-soldier to you guys? Why would you be giving me an education?" I asked quietly.

"This is a long-term project. You can't be much use to us if you can't go on field missions because of a lack of knowledge, which an education can provide. Any other questions?" Heel lady answered, hands folding in a clear show of impatience. Who put a stick up her butt today?

"If this is a long-term project, why am I being secluded then? I have no friends here which is counter-productive as humans are naturally social animals." If you can't escape, manipulate them into giving you what you wanted, right? "I could simply... refuse to cooperate.

The look she gave me was very tired and done. "If you refuse to cooperate, we will use other more extreme methods to get you to. For example, beatings or leaving you in a completely white room for a couple of hours. If I was you, I would cooperate."

"Oh..." Well, #$% okay then. They weren't messing around.

"Any other questions?" I shook my head and she gave me a strained, fake smile. "I suggest you get started on your reading. You will be tested on your strength and wall-crawling tomorrow." With that, she turned around and left, her heels clicking in her wake.

I tipped back and lay across the ceiling, cushioning my head with my hands. I sighed, this... sucked. It really sucked. I couldn't really do anything to improve it. I would have no friends here until someone else joined me as a 'subject' in this little project of theirs. But I didn't want anyone to suffer through this with me, cause this sucked. I really wanted to shut down this project and make sure no one ever had to go through this again, even if it took me years to do it.

I tilted my head to the side to look at the tiny table. Why did Hydra have to have it come out of the wall like that? It just seemed way too extra. Someone decided it was a good idea, designed it and built it. That was probably the most ridiculous part of it all. And it was tiny! It was barely half the size of my desk at school.

With a slight grumble, I let myself drop to the floor. I got to my feet and walked over to the pile of books. I picked up a few - there was one for maths, one for English and one for science. I stopped when I noticed one that was... definitely different from the rest. Its title read "How to be a Spy: The World War II SOE Training Manual." I flipped through a few pages but stopped when I noticed there was a loose page. I flicked to it and my eyes widened at what looked like... blueprints. I turned to the next loose page and found a note.

Miles,

I am Jasmine, a double agent for SHIELD. I am unable to reach you at my current rank but I can give you this. Contained in these loose pages are the blueprints of this Hydra base, use this to escape. Good luck.

Jasmine

I turned back to the blueprint and unfolded it carefully. I quickly scanned over it and found my cell. I checked the measurements and compared it to my room and found it to be exact. So it didn't seem like some sort of test. Every room on this was labelled which would definitely be useful.

I bit my lip, I didn't want to get too hopeful but... if I was careful I could escape.

I knew that escaping this place would probably only be the first step in my escape. I would have to find out where in the world I was and then take steps to get back home. I would have to figure out how to live a normal life again too, without Hydra getting me again. But I could do this, no matter what it would take.

I was no Tony Stark, nor was I Black Widow or Captain America, but maybe with this, I could plan something. Even if it was a general idea. I just had to hope that I would be able to do it.

Wait a minute... if she was apart of SHIELD why hadn't she contacted them and gotten me out of here?

* * *

I watched a bead of sweat slowly trickle down my arm, down my finger and onto the ground where it joined a small but slowly growing puddle of them.

Hydra had decided to test how good I was at balancing after testing nearly every other aspect of my powers. By my estimates, I had been here for about two and a half weeks and nothing much had changed. I still did tests every other day and between them, I had a day learning with the tutor.

I hadn't received anything else from Jasmine during this time, and frankly, I wasn't expecting anything else. It had probably been really difficult for her to get the blueprints to me in the first place. What else could she possibly give me that would be inconspicuous and small? And help me? The blueprints were a big help already.

My arm cramped again and I was reminded of my present situation. I was on a small platform that was only big enough for me one hand. I had been told to do a handstand on it with just my one hand and to do it for as on as I possibly could. Which kinda sucked because I already knew I could balance on tiny things for a long amount of time. No matter how small the surface, my body could naturally find my centre and keep me there until I decided to stop. I hadn't ever tested it properly myself but I knew I could do this for awhile. The only thing that was really stopping me right now was that my fingers were cramping, badly.

I had put my hand in a bad position and they hadn't let me get back down and start again. They just expected me to stay like this! My arm was going to need a good days rest after this! I didn't think I could afford that right now either because I wanted to be in top shape when I go for my escape.

So far I had figured out a basic idea for the route I would need to go. I would first go to get my spidey suit which was probably down in storage somewhere. If they had burned it then that would be fine but my webshooters would have probably been kept even if it was just for the scientists to study. I would then see if I could steal and delete all the results of my tests. I would get rid of any information about this program of theirs, even if it inconvenienced SHIELD because they wouldn't have the full picture of what had taken place. That didn't matter in the long run, if it stopped someone else from going through the same treatment it would be worth it. I wasn't completely sure how I would get out of the base though.

They did have a vehicle bay that I could use to sneak into the boot of a car. Thing was, who knew when they might start the car up and leave the base? I don't think I could handle being in the base longer then I needed to be. All I had was the blueprints and that was all the information I could rely on, so I didn't know when people moved around or when people left the base. I could try and grab a motorbike or something but I didn't know what the terrain was like. If it was a desert, I would go get one, but if it was a jungle I could easily get stuck and it would create a lot of noise, leading them directly to me. If it was a forest I would have to rely on my ability to hide.

In that spy book, it had described ways of hiding in plain sight, like when hiding in trees you follow the shadow of the tree and stuff like that. I also had the advantage of my camouflage which would undoubtedly be useful. This would work well in a lot of terrains but if it was a desert I would have to travel as far as I could as quickly as I could, so subtly was not going to be in the picture really.

Ugh, I wanted to try and plan it out but I simply couldn't. I had to wait for more information about where I was. I would have to get to the surface, or at least see the surface before I could plan my next move.

Another thing that I had to figure out was how I would travel through the base. If I went through the corridors I could be cornered or taken out pretty quickly. Not to mention that the alarm would be raised a lot quicker. Vents seemed like the next best option but I had no idea how I could subtly get into the vents without someone noticing. Not to mention, if they realised where I was in the vents I could potentially be a sitting duck. I would have to figure that out before I escaped.

So my plan so far was to find a vent I could get into without raising an alarm, if I could, grab my spidey suit and any other supplies I can grab, destroy all data on this place, go up through the vents to the top to figure out what kind of terrain I was dealing with and then go from there. Well... I could try to get some other supplies in the meantime, like extra water or food. Only if I could, though.

I blinked a few times and looked at the ground, or the perch, I was on. My hand was killing me.

"I'm going to hop down, my hand is cramping really badly," I told Mike. Mike was the annoying doctor who had been overseeing all the tests. He was such a prick. I understood why he was a part of Hydra, cause any other scientist wouldn't work with him. Probably. The idea left a smile on my face in any case.

"Fine. You were up there for thirty-two minutes and twenty-seven seconds. That's impressive!" I got down and sat on the edge of the small platform, massaging my hand. It was so numb I could barely feel it, but what I could feel was a very strong ache. This was going to be a pain. "Next week we'll do this test again and then maybe the test after that we'll start getting you up on just a few fingers. Sound good?"

"I don't have much of a choice anyway," I murmured bitterly, just loud enough for him to hear. I didn't bother to look up and see his expression.

He paused awkwardly for a few seconds then smiled, "Uh, you can spend the rest of the day off. If you need anything just let one of us know."

I got up, giving him as fake a smile as I could before I was lead off by the guards. Did he seriously think I would ever buddy up with him? He was a Hydra scum, and Hydra was literally everything I had been trying to stop. If I never had to see his face, I would be beyond happy.


	5. Chapter 5

"That's not how you punch! Throw your whole body into it!" My instructor/teacher, Smits, yelled at me, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. He was a bloke from South Africa who had a stick up his ass. He had the superiority complex as large as Donald Trumps, couldn't take a joke to save his life and demanded that everything I did had to be perfect or else I had to do sit-ups.

Thing is, stuff like that was so easy for me that it had no effect on me, no matter how many he made me do. Ten or two-hundred, I didn't care. It never got whatever 'point' he was trying to get through to me so he kept on getting angrier and angrier everytime I was being taught by him. Well, I did, but I never respected him enough to put my 'everything' into something he wanted me to do. I did as much as I wanted to and no more, which got him even angrier. It was an endless loop that was not going to break. There wasn't anything he could do as a teacher to get me to obey an agent of Hydra, and even less he could do to make me one.

He taught me all my survival and fighting lessons, which severely sucked cause that was stuff I was actually interested in. It would be useful to me if I tried to escape, no it could well be life-saving. Thing was, if I put more effort into those lessons compared to learning how to "throw a punch right" then they would get suspicious and maybe discover the blueprints.

It also didn't help that I couldn't respect anything he told me because of how obviously he looked down on me and his greed for power. He didn't want to be teaching me, and I didn't want to do anything he told me. Bad combination that meant we... fought a lot.

His lessons would turn from him yelling at me to throw a punch right, to him getting more physical and trying to hit me over the head or something (which I dodge easily) to him trying to show me how to do a punch right by him trying to punch me. Except his anger would make him do it worse than I do it so I would point out how he was doing it wrong and it would eventually end with me doing a more and more excessive amount of sit-ups.

It was sorta funny, really.

The saving grace was that I had two different teachers for my more mundane subjects, Jack and Evan. If I had him for everything I would have probably gotten myself beaten or punished several times by now. The tutor wasn't around too much now, cause it seemed like he had just been a sub for me until they had been able to get some proper teachers. Except for Smit, cause he might claim he's a qualified teacher but he's as bright as a rock.

I mean, it seemed like he thought he could turn me into a mindless soldier for them with enough sit-ups. That was never going to happen. I was a superhero, no human could restrain me or break my mind into obeying. I dared them to try.

I looked at him through the corner of my eye, still positioned to punch. I openly scowled at him, "I have my fist curled the right way! If I do it the way you're asking I'll break the punching bag."

"Do it, or else," he growled, eyes narrowing at me. My fist curled into a tighter ball. 'Or else' my ass.

I narrowed my eyes, I would show him. I imagined that the punching bag was him. In a sudden show of anger, I stepped forward, arched my swing and hit the dead centre of it. The blow sent it lurching off the chain and sailed all the way across the room where it hit the wall. Sand or whatever punching bags were filled with went all over the floor. I folded my arms, turning to face him. I was too angry to get any satisfaction out of my show of strength.

"Do you think this is a game?" He hissed at me, jabbing a finger into my chest, hard. I didn't move. "Because I can authorise for you to be-"

The door to the training room opened, interrupting Smit. I looked over and found Heel lady walking in. Her eyes were as cold as ice, betraying her disgust in what was happening. It brought a small smile to my face. "Smits, you are stepping out of line." She said, her voice steely but otherwise unchanged from her usual attitude.

That seemed to get a message through his thick skull, 'cause he straightened up with a twitch of his nose. It betrayed his bitterness to being ordered around. He was seriously power hunger, it was so clear he wanted to bite back at her. Heel lady was not intimidated in the slightest.

"Miles, you'll be escorted to your showers. Then you can go study in your room. Go." Her voice left no room for argument, but I still hesitated a moment, eyes flicking between the two of them. I gave in though. The look on Smits' face when I obeyed her made it well worth it.

The door opened as soon as I was near it. The guards stationed there waiting to escort me stepped forward as soon as they saw me.

I lingered a moment, though. I wish I could be a fly on the wall when this went down. With my slightly enhanced I was able to hear her begin to speak before the doors shut.

"You know that we're supposed to make his experience comforta-" the door shut, cutting the rest of the sentence off. Aw man, she sounded pissed. I would have loved hearing heel lady tearing him a new one. I knew that was kind of petty but he honestly needed someone to take his ego down a few notches. If only I could listen in on the whole conversation...

I had travelled to the showers plenty of times before so I more or less lead the way, the guards walked a few feet or so back to either side of me. It was all too easy to imagine making a break for it right now. I could take them down in only a few seconds with my venom blast and be gone before anyone could raise the alarm. I had memorised the map by now, so if I tried I might get a fair distance before I could be stopped.

But, as I had to keep on reminding myself, if I did try to escape... I had nothing to help me. I could freeze to death for all I knew about the terrain out there. I could be stopped by them and be tortured. I didn't want anything like that to happen, so I had to be content with waiting for a more foolproof plan.

I walked into the bathroom and the door shut behind me, leaving me completely alone. It was the only time I was ever truly alone, as there were no cameras in here. I let my shoulders droop a bit and sighed.

The bathroom was not normal in any sense. It was like one you would expect to find in a prison. It was large, open and bare. Showerheads were spread evenly along the furthest wall with waist-high walls to give a very limited amount of privacy. The rest of the room was dedicated to toilets and sinks, with toilets along the left and right walls with low walls once again. It really was an all-in-one place, for maybe around fifty or so people.

It was painfully clear that they were expecting more subjects for this project of theirs. To think that they expected just this many enhanced individuals at the same time...

The only positive thing was that I had been the first one to get here which meant the limited amount of privacy I would have had if there were other people in here was now complete. It meant I could be alone from prying and judgemental eyes, if only for a few minutes.

That wasn't to say that I liked this sterile place. I still hated and dreaded the fact that I was here at all, but I could still be grateful for the small things, like this. It was better than being tortured which was what I had been expecting.

I got unchanged and robotically turned on the shower to begin to clean myself. As I stepped under the warm water, I closed my eyes and tried to let myself relax. I did my best to un-tense my back before I finally opened my eyes and tipped my head back to wash my hair. I was about to close my eyes again when a gleam caught my eye.

Warily, I focused back on the shiny thing. It didn't seem like the gleam of a hidden camera, which thankfully I knew weren't in here, but it was definitely from some sort of metal. It didn't seem like it was from a lightbulb or something either.

I walked forward, not bothering to turn off the shower as I studied the ceiling for the source of it. When I was about to give up and finish up in here, I finally saw it. Right in the corner of the room were some loose tiles that were clearly only hanging on by some sort of ledge in the ceiling, but something had loosened them so that there were big enough gaps to tip me off to its existence. I frowned, that didn't seem right.

Clearly, someone would have come in to fix that by now. But... what reason would most Hydra agents have to come in here? They had their own separate showers two floors above me. The only people who might come in were cleaners and maintenance people and I was sure they had enough crap to deal with to bother with something as small as that.

After a small moment of hesitation, I crawled up the wall and onto the ceiling. I crouched down, trying to decide how to figure out exactly what this was. If I wanted to be certain I would have to move the tiles, but I couldn't hastily move these because one could fall and break before I could set it down on the floor. If something broke the guards would immediately come in to see what's going on and then I might never figure out what this is. It could be the key to my escape...

I hovered over the tiles for a moment, biting my lip. I also had to get this over and done with as soon as possible, they might get suspicious if the shower ran for too long. They had shouted at me to hurry up before. It was a very real threat that my privacy would be invaded at a drop of a hat.

I took a deep breath, letting determination settle inside of me before I grabbed the tiles with one hand and stuck to them. Slowly I nudged the tiles with my other hand to loosen them up before I pulled them out of the hole. I breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully they hadn't slipped from my grip. I crawled back down the wall and set them against the wall without much noise before I crawled back up to properly investigate the small hole.

This was... this was a vent! The entrance to it was only about the width and length of a normal laptop, but I knew I could squeeze through that. I looked at the inside through the gaps in the metal and found it to be about tall and wide enough for me to crawl along on hands and knees. It looked like the perfect way for me to escape. I wouldn't have much trouble crawling through here.

I glanced below for a moment, wondering if I had spent too long on this, before grabbing onto the entrance and tugging it lightly. It rattled a bit but otherwise showed no signs of giving any time soon. I looked at the corners and found them secured into place by some screws. If I gripped it and turned it with my finger it should come loose, right? It would be less noisy then bending the metal or breaking it off. I went to do just that when there was a loud knocking on the door, making me flinch and almost lose my grip on the ceiling in surprise.

"Hurry up in there!" One of the guards shouted and I scowled. I wish I could do more but obviously, life had other plans. I would have to continue this another time. I replaced the tiles and went to my shower. I quickly rinsed off before turning the shower off and grabbing my towel.

I had known that there was a vent in here but I had thought that it was inaccessible. I guess that's why that vent had been hidden by the tiles, to try and hide it from me or any other subjects that might be in the program. If they hadn't been looser I still wouldn't know it was there and I would still be figuring out how to escape without raising too many alarms too quickly. Now the question remained, when was the right time to attempt to escape?

I couldn't do it now because the guards were already expecting me to come out at any moment. I would only have a minute or so to get as far as I could before they barged in and all hell would break loose. I needed at least a few minutes to get over to the storage rooms to grab my costume and web-shooters.

Well, I guess I could ask at any time to go to the bathroom, no one would find that suspicious. If I said I was going to the toilet I might have five minutes or so before they barged in. If I waited until I needed a shower I might have ten minutes, if I was lucky, if not a bit longer. If I did it at night I might have a bit longer to get far away from the shower before anyone raised the alarm, because they might assume I would be a bit more sluggish since I would be tired from all the days work.

Actually, what was I thinking? It didn't matter all that much when I escaped. The only real difference in how well my escape would go is the movement patterns of guards... which I had no idea about. I tugged my clothes on as quickly as I could before I opened the door, making my way confidently towards my room with barely a glance at my escorts. One of the guards was watching me closely, as if he knew I had found the vent, but I kept my chin up and walked as if nothing had happened. He couldn't prove anything, anyway.

Not unless they had been spying on me... but if they had I would already be in huge trouble.

He knew nothing. I was in the clear.

I walked into my room, the door shutting behind me. I went and sat on my bed, curling a foot under me as I leaned back on the pillows.

As soon as I was in the bathroom again, I would escape. No matter what time, no matter the circumstances. I refused to stay in this special kind of hell any longer.

I pondered for a moment before getting up and walking up to my desk and picking up the book about spies. It couldn't hurt to read up on it and grab a few tips before I tried escaping, it might help me remain unnoticed for a few valuable minutes. I needed any kind of advantage I could get.


	6. Chapter 6

I heard the clicking of Heel lady's shoes on the marble floor outside of my room a moment before the door opened. She walked in, clipboard in hand and a look that seemed to... be softer than she normally allowed. She was as immaculate as usual, but I knew there was something up with her.

Maybe it was from the fight she probably had with Smits? But I had never seen her like this... looking so soft and... dare I say caring? It didn't look right on her, which definitely made me pay attention to whatever she was going to tell me.

I put the spy book down on the edge of the desk, leaving it open so I wouldn't lose the page. I had a nervous feeling twisting in my gut, but my spider-sense wasn't going off. Something was off, something was about to happen. I couldn't explain it but I just knew. It would be easier to pinpoint it if my spider-sense could tell me, but it couldn't. Whatever it was wasn't a physical threat to me, but maybe it was an emotional or mental one? I wasn't sure but that was the only thing that could explain my gut instinct.

I didn't let any of this show on my face, or... as much as I could. Being relatively neutral was better than an open book. I wouldn't give her, or Hydra by extension through her, an inch. They would take a mile and beat me into the dust in the process.

"Hello Mr Morales, how are you doing?" She asked, her voice thankfully the same as it usually was. Professional.

I did frown though, she may sound the same but it almost felt like she was acting or had been replaced. That- there was just no way that _she_ would ask how I was doing. I had gotten very used to her just bulldozing past anything resembling small talk, she was on a schedule and that was pretty respectable. So... it was so strange. Something was wrong and if _she_ wouldn't be, then _I_ had to be as blunt as possible.

"I'm fine. Can we get to the point?" I requested, folding my arms. I wanted this talk to be over with as soon as I could, instead of waiting for the other ball to drop. As soon as that happened, I could plan ahead and see how it changed my plans to escape.

She paused for a moment, studying me, before nodding. She looked down at her clipboard, and I couldn't help but think that she did that more to distract herself than remind herself of anything on the paper. She finally opened her mouth to speak after what felt like a minute but was actually more like ten seconds. "We have completed a baseline score of your... powers. We have begun to reverse engineer your DNA."

I narrowed my eyes, "Why would you need to tell me this? I have no power over any of that."

She unclipped a piece of paper from the clipboard and handed it to me. I briefly looked at it, it was obvious that it was about my powers. I was sure it would help me if I bothered to look at it, but for now, the churning in my gut was urging me to speed this up. I put it down beside the spy book, I would look at it later. "Thanks, but why do I need to see this? Get to the point."

Her eyes turned icy but she didn't rebuff me for talking out of line with her. That didn't seem right either. I was outright antagonising her and she wasn't doing anything to stop me.

"How willing are you to become an agent of Hydra?" She asked after a small moment of hesitation.

I froze. No. No, I didn't want to become one! I was a superhero, not some minion or supervillain!

My gut twisted harder, my throat clenching and my heart began to race. She hadn't phrased it as 'will you become an agent of Hydra,' she had said how _willing_ I was to join them. They would try and break my mind if I refused, without a doubt, but I **couldn't** join them! I didn't **want** to join them! I didn't want to hurt people for the sake of an organisation that I didn't even believe in!

I would never want to join them, no matter what. There was nothing they could do to make me hurt an innocent civilian.

I clenched my fist, taking a deep steadying breath. I couldn't panic, not now. Not when I had everything at stake and so much to lose. If I... I couldn't even believe I was _thinking_ this, but maybe if I played along I wouldn't be dragged into a situation that was even worse than this. Worse than this being... being tortured, strapped down to a table and explored with a knife because I was of no use to them. I didn't want to die, not yet and definitely not now.

I looked back at her, she had been watching me carefully and it was obvious that she had seen all of my panic. She could probably guess at what I had been thinking. I had to throw her off a little bit, make it seem like my calmness after that panic was something other than me rebelling.

"What..." I swallowed and started my sentence again, "what would... be in it for me?" I inquired, trying to clamp down on my nervousness. This might be the most important few minutes of my life, I couldn't screw this up.

Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she twisted her face into something more neutral. Thank god. She was trying to stay professional and neutral as usual, but for once her walls were lowered enough for me to know she was genuinely curious as to where this would go, and just how willing I _actually_ was.

"Your current training would continue as normal but a program designed specifically to improve your individual powers would begin. You would also be allowed limited access to the outside world in the form of newspapers and a computer would be provided with Hydra files that your security clearance allows. You will also be involved in discussions about you and your current state of mind and body. At some point in the future, you would be sent on field missions."

I looked away from her, staring at the wall. "So I would be considered more of an agent than a prisoner?" I saw her nod from the corner of my eyes.

I swallowed, before looking her square in the eyes with a fierce determination that had suddenly welled up beneath all of the false bravado I had been working under the whole time I had been here. It made her mask flicker, and made the calmer part of me surprised. I didn't know where it had come from. Maybe it was my anger at being captured, at remaining quiet and submissive for so long in the hope of avoiding Hydra's wrath, at being so... helpless.

But whatever the cause, it was providing me with confidence that allowed my quietly simmering anxiety to be turned off for once. And it allowed me to speak up, to finally prod at what I had been wondering at nearly every night I had been in this hell.

"Would I ever be allowed to see my parents or friends again?" I asked, voice low with an almost growl like quality to it.

"That would depend on many things, including whether or not they would join Hydra willingly." She said quietly, softly.

Weakly.

"They don't even know I'm here, do they?" She shook her head. I curled my fist into a tighter ball. "Why would they join you people if they have no reason to? If you tell them to join you're going to use me as blackmail against them, because if I know them they would never join you heartless bastards."

I laughed coldly, which made a deeply unsettled look settle just beneath her mask, "You don't want me to live a normal life. You guys only see me as a weapon, a play-thing that if you give it something to toy with every once in a while that you like to call 'privileges' it just might give you something in return."

"Mr Morales, unfortunately, you are a huge asset to our cause. We can't have you being influenced by-" I interrupted her before she could continue her emotionless, almost practised, explanation.

"By people who actually care about me? About people who will look at what's happening to me and go 'this isn't right'?! I am fourteen, or have you forgotten through your fake concern?" I hissed venomously.

There was a long silence, the tension in the room so thick that you could almost cut through it. Heel lady lifted her chin a little higher, her eyes turning icy. I didn't let myself relax, nor change my expression into something more calm from the clear anger it was currently at. I knew that I could be jeopardising everything, but at this point, I couldn't care. I was not going to be a pushover, I was not going to let them make me follow their orders like some sort of dog. I **refused** to roll over and expose my belly to the enemy.

I was a human with needs and wants, I was a superhero with the power to bend metal, and I _wouldn't let them forget it_.

"Miles," oh that was new, she had never used my first name before, didn't make much of a difference to me anyway, "despite what you think we have your best interests at heart. You have used your powers for trivial and insignificant purposes up until this point and now we are going to put it towards more productive pursuits."

"So saving people's lives and defending a city from harm is suddenly trivial?" I demanded, face twisting into an ugly glare. "I have saved more lives than Hydra has in its whole history! All you've done is bulldozed anyone in your path, whether or not they deserved it or not. Why should I believe your lies?"

"The ends justify the means-"

"What's the end?! When will you stop? When you've taken over America? The world? Made everyone your slaves?"

"We'll stop when we have shown everyone how wrong SHIELD is."

I stood up, the chair falling to the ground with a loud ' _ **thump**_.' Heel lady flinched but otherwise didn't move, even as my hands fell to my side into threatening, tightly clenched fists. "So this is some sort of contest to you?" I hissed, "Some sort of war? You don't care about anyone, all you care about are some faulty lies about a 'better world.' God, you just lapped up all they told you like a dog, huh? What a nice power trip you get for bossing me around, right?"

There was another long pause, but finally, she lifted her chin a bit higher. "I don't have to explain myself to you. I'll give you three days to decide before we start on more drastic measures to... convince you." She turned around, heading towards the door. The door opened and she hovered by the door for a few moments before she looked back at me. "If I was you, I would consider long and hard about how little power you have here. There's no one to save you, there's only this decision that can decide your future."

I folded my arms, looking down at the ground. I took a deep breath, staring at the wall instead of looking at her. I already knew she would be angry, that she would have a venonmous grin on her face. I know that she's pissed at me.

I shouldn't have blown up at her like that. It was stupid of me. I had put myself at serious risk for the sole purpose of yelling at her about how un-just all this was. All it had achieved was a small way to vent all of my anger instead of bottling it up... like I should have.

But I had an escape planned and ready to go. There was no point in hesitating any longer. She was angry at me, I had everything I needed to know to get out in my head and at my fingertips... and I had nothing and everything to lose right now, like my life. If I didn't escape before the three days were up I would likely be tortured, beaten, opened up and put through hell.

I couldn't let that happen.

In the long run, _**if**_ I survived any injuries caused by my recapture, on a field mission I could easily run away and cover up any trace of where I was. And as she had said, I was an important asset to Hydra. They might put me through hell, but they would likely still keep me alive if they thought they had any use for me.

But... I...

I didn't want to go through agonising pain...

She turned around, eyes still icy and angry at me, and began to walk away. As the door was shutting I quickly shouted, "Wait!" She whirled around and the door opened back up.

"I... I'll do it. I'll join you." I said, my voice stronger than I felt.

She smiled coldly, "We'll work out the specifics tomorrow. Goodnight." The door shut.

I walked over to my bed, legs like jelly. I sat down, burying my head in my hands. What had I done?

* * *

That night I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. I was too anxious, too caught up in my own thoughts to get any rest.

I was worried about whether or not I would escape, whether or not I would ever get the opportunity to even try, thinking over and over and over again about what I had said to Heel lady and what she would do to me, what they would force me to do as an agent of Hydra, what they would do to me if I got caught again... My thoughts were spiralling around and down. I couldn't stop them! I wanted to sleep but I couldn't.

My mind seemed stubborn in its determination to keep me awake and terrified for my future.

What if I never escaped? What if I was killed like Heel lady had promised on my very first day? In my escape would I die from natural causes like a crocodile or freeze to death or maybe even fall from a large height? Or something worse? Or would I be shot and my body cut open and explored?

In the dark, I could see the outline of my hand in front of my face. It was shaking lightly. I was scared.

...

...

 **No.**

 _ **No.**_

I wouldn't lie here when _right now_ I could be halfway out of this _damned_ place.

I curled my hand into a fist, a quiet calm filling me up with a courage that I didn't know I possessed. It was making me feel stronger and more powerful then I had felt in weeks.

I _didn't_ have 'only this decision to decide my fate.' My choice _was_ _ **not**_ whether I stayed here to become an agent or be forced into complying, it was whether I stayed here like a chump scared and afraid of a threat from something much bigger than me or whether I said _**no**_ and left this place to try and carve out a normal life again from whatever husk it would be from all of this.

This was all in my power to do, and I wasn't going to let anyone make me feel helpless anymore.

With this confidence flooding through me, I gave up on sleep completely. I was not going to stay here a second longer. I would see the sky again if it killed me.

I wouldn't have gotten any sleep, anyway. Not with my brain. It was time to be proactive and get something done.

I walked over to my desk where I grabbed the hidden map. I looked at it for the last time, engraving in the last few details into my mind before I ripped it in half. I ripped it again and again until it was unrecognisable and then stuffed the tiny pieces into a book to hide them. I took a deep breath then went over to the door and knocked. Here goes nothing.

"What do you need kid?" one of the guards asked.

"I need to go to the bathroom." There was a small pause and I quickly added on, "I'm busting."

There was a click and then the door opened. I immediately hurried in the direction of the bathroom to keep up the facade. I went into the bathroom and as soon as the door shut I stopped in my 'hurried' strides towards the toilets and climbed up the wall. I went to where I knew the vent was hidden and removed the tiles as quickly as I could. I placed them on the ground ready for me to retrieve before walking back up and unscrewing the screws.

Just as I had thought, if I gripped them I could easily turn them. It took me a few minutes of valuable times to get all six screws out of place but as soon as that was done I was able to grab the grate and put it up into the vent. I then crawled down the wall and grabbed the tiles.

I took a deep breath, this was it. If I succeeded in escaping I would be on my way home, if I failed I would be killed and/or experimented on. But that seemed better than being turned into a tool for Hydra to use. Anything had to be better than that. I crawled into the vent and carefully replaced the tiles behind me.

And then I couldn't see a thing.

Actions


	7. Chapter 7

I crawled through the dark vent, hyper-aware of the sounds I was making. The swish of my clothes, how the metal caved in just a little bit whenever I moved forward, it did not help me keep calm about my current situation. If I did manage to find and get my spidey-suit, I wouldn't have to worry about how my clothes dragged just that little bit.

I shivered, and the metal was freezing too. The cold metal mixed with the frigid airflow to create a mix that left me shivering. It didn't help that I was already scared of what could happen as soon as it was discovered that I was getting out of here.

I was thankful that it wasn't completely dark. After a bit of crawling around I had been able to see a faint outline of myself and the vent. I assumed the light was coming from a room where there was a gap in the vent, like the one I had crawled through. I was still thankful that I had memorised the map in my head. I still had to keep my mind on it, but it was much better than having to try and find a light source so I could see the bit of paper. It would have been another thing they could track me by, too.

I took a quiet deep breath, though it didn't calm any of my nerves. My heart was in my throat and I was scared to so much as breathe too loudly. I was tense, waiting for an alarm to go off, a bullet to puncture through the metal, the air to stop flowing, someone shouting about where I was...

But, it was quiet. It was so quiet that I could hear the blood racing through my veins.

Nothing I was imagining was currently happening, and until they did, I had to keep on moving, I couldn't freeze. Time was ticking against me.

I knew I was above some sort of office at this point and in two grates time or so I would be above the large storage room which should have my Spider-man suit and my webshooters - if they hadn't thrown it out or the scientists had them. I doubted that they would have been able to reverse engineer or figure out the webbing anyway so it would be useless to them.

Something in my gut told me that they were here, and I knew in the long run that I could survive and be fine without either. But... as soon as I got them I should feel more... like me. Powerful. Brave.

It seemed ridiculous, and in a way it really was, but after using my webshooters and suit for so long they made me feel like I was able to do things that normally I couldn't. Not to mention the fact that without the webshooters I had felt naked. The first week here I had at some points aimed to shot a web at something before realising I didn't have them. If I got my webshooters I should be more or less set for whatever happens. And the suit was an added bonus, even if I couldn't imagine not having it on when I got back home. I knew it offered me no physical protection from my enemies but it helped cement an image for me.

It also stopped villains and people from seeing how scared I am sometimes, so there was that.

There was the sound of movement below me, someone shuffling there feet a few steps, and I froze. They stopped right below me, as if they were taunting me. I paused there, stock still with all my senses trained on him and the surrounding area, but after a few valuable seconds where I could have been moving I realised that it was okay. He or she didn't know I was here, and there was no way they could find out. I was being as quiet as a mouse! It might not even be a guard too, could be a scientist!

Hesitantly I began to move again, being careful to make sure nothing bumped or brushed against something loud enough to alert them, or anyone else for that matter.

The grate to the storage room was just around the corner, about five meters in front of me if the light emitting from the room was anything to go by.

I reached the vent's entrance and felt around the edge for some screws that I could get loose. There wasn't anything, though. I bit my lip, okay I had to be smart about this. I had to make as little noise as possible while still being as quick as possible. Which meant I couldn't just punch it because that would be loud. Even if the initial punch wasn't loud, it hitting the ground would be like dropping a pencil in the middle of a test. It would make heads turn and probably send off a lot of alarms.

I experimentally put two fingers in one of the small gaps and tried to push them further apart. The metal whined but gave way and a bigger hole formed. This was better than just punching through by a long way! And if I made the gap big enough I would be able to unscrew the screws and maybe no one would be able to tell something had happened if I went as far as to try and put the metal back in their normal positions. I slowly pushed the gaps further apart until there was a big enough hole. Alright, this might be a bit awkward.

I slipped a hand in and felt around for the first screw. I felt over a small bump and immediately gripped onto it. I twisted around until it began to fall, but I gripped it before it could hit the ground and I put it beside me. I did the same thing with all the other screws before grabbing the vent and placing it in with me. It had taken me a few anxious minutes but it was worth it if it helped cover up my trail.

I took a deep breath before hanging my legs out over the edge and falling. I hit the ground as lightly as I could and did a small role to lessen the impact. I then ran and ducked behind one of the large wooden boxes, keeping all my senses alert for any movement, or people, or threats.

But it was quiet. I guess no one really had much of a reason to guard this place when it was more likely than not in a simple building. From what I had managed to gather from the blueprints, there weren't really any windows and there were no windows. It seemed odd but I couldn't be bothered to question it too hard.

I let out a small chuckle, a huge grin spreading across my face. I had this.

I checked one more time for any people before I walked out into the pathway to get a better look at the box I had just hidden behind. It had a sticker in the corner that explained where it had come from, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and what it was, gun parts. I swallowed, alrighty then... moving on.

I walked down the aisles, looking for a box that might contain my stuff. If it didn't have a place that it comes from on it it was likely going to contain my stuff. I kept all my senses on high alert for any curious guards who might suspect something fishy was going on, silently thankful that, as far as I knew, there weren't any cameras in here. If there had been, this part would be almost impossible and I might not have come in here at all.

After a few minutes of searching, I finally found a box labelled 'prisoner belongings.' I was both offended and raising an eyebrow at it. I mean, prisoner made me think I was in jail for doing something wrong, which I hadn't obviously. I was raising an eyebrow because someone had thought 'lets name this box something very obvious if a 'subject' tries to escape.'

I ripped the top off and found my suit folded neatly at the bottom with my webshooters on top. Aw, how sweet, someone had cared enough about it to treat it nicely.

I hoped in the box and changed into it as quickly as humanly possible, almost through muscle memory more than anything else. I discarded my Hydra clothes with barely a glance, good riddance. I had no time to savour the moment, even though I wanted to see if it was ripped or how much looser it might be on me if I had lost any weight, time was my enemy right now. If I was being honest I was surprised that my guards hadn't set off the alarm by now. I had "been in the bathroom" for more than five minutes! Well, okay I guess if it was closer to ten minutes they would have set off the alarm, but they would have at least shouted at me to hurry up by now.

My webshooters went on last and they clicked into place snugly. I grinned, I was going to get out of this hell hole. None of these Hydra dogs were going to stop me.

I got back out and thwipped a web up at the ceiling by the vent entrance. It hit with a quiet 'thunk' and when I gave it a small tug it held well. Huh, time in the canisters didn't seem to deteriorate the quality of them. I tugged myself up and crawled into the vent. Before I placed the vent back in I pulled all of the webbing into the vent to hide that as best as I could, instead of letting it hang down and alerting anyone by accident. I then put the grate back and webbed two corners to keep it in place instead of bothering to replace the screws. I would be out of here in under an hour, surely, and even if I didn't the alarm would be raised before it was an issue.

Now, where to go from here? I could head straight for an entrance right now but if I did Hydra would still have everything on me and this project stored in their system... I should delay this as long as possible and hopefully prevent anyone else from suffering the same fate as me. It was the right thing to do.

Mind made up, I quickly began to crawl in the right direction, mentally keeping a track of how long I had 'been in the bathroom.' As soon as the alarms went off I couldn't exactly be subtle, I couldn't try to hide as much as I was doing currently. When it went off I would have to drop whatever I was doing and get out of here as soon as possible.

I crawled up to the vent over the IT room. There were people sitting and working on computers. If I dropped into there the alarm would be raised. If I kept on going I would maybe have a few more minutes to get out of here before an alarm was raised. Should I risk it? I could be putting everything at risk for someone I might not ever know in the long run. And I guess it could benefit me too but I really had no idea how big my contribution would be if they ever completed this project.

But, I was a hero. I couldn't _not_ do this, no matter the personal cost to me. It was what I should do.

I hated being a hero sometimes.

I went through the same process with the vent that I had done with the one above the storage room, except this time I was being more wary of anyone hearing and looking up. If someone did I would just have to punch through and begin fighting. Over the minute it took to get the vent loose and in beside me, no one noticed. I carefully examined the room, watching the IT people clicking away, what was my strategy going to be?

If I went in fighting I could maybe stop anyone from raising the alarm before I got out of there. What was I even planning on doing anyway? I wasn't skilled enough to send a virus through the systems. I couldn't smash all the computers either because there would no doubt be more across the base.

I lowered my head through the opening so I could see the whole of the room. I looked around and found a room separated by a wall of glass with a small sign labelled 'servers' on the door. If I smashed those that could get rid of the information for good! But, wait. There were a lot of rows to try and smash through. I would be stopped before I was halfway through. Hmm.

What if I gave it a venom blast? That should wipe the information _and_ it should take way less effort or time to do. Perfect.

Well, maybe I didn't even need to take down the IT people. If I got past them quick enough I could get out of there before any guards were able to stop me. It shouldn't matter too much if the alarm was set off because if I was correct my guards would be setting off the alarm in less than a minute anyway. I could escape pretty quickly through the vents anyway, right? No one else but me would be able to move them as quickly, right?

I closed my eyes, inhaled, then dropped into the room. There were several shouts of alarm as people saw me. I ignored them in favour of running towards the servers and slammed my shoulder into the door. It broke off its hinges and fell to the ground with a **_thud_**. I stepped over it, resisting the urge to stop and marvel at the rows upon rows of servers. It was amazing! I wondered what brand what supplied them all of them, how they were built... but now was _not_ the time.

I sighed and reached forward to venom blast them when everything went red and alarms started blaring. I only paused for one second more before I touched it with two fingers and sent a venom blast through the systems. Sparks flew all along the rows and it was pretty obvious that I had done some pretty bad damage.

I then turned around and began to run back to the vent but one of the IT people tried to tackle me just before I reached it. I dodged out of the way and went to jump up but suddenly my spider-sense went off loudly as guards ran in, screaming at me to get to the ground.

I narrowed my eyes, ignoring the growing panic. I had gotten this far, I wasn't going to let them stop me now. I made a split second decision and jumped up into the vent, scrambling to pull my whole body in. My spider-sense blared and I gripped the metal as hard as I could as someone grabbed my foot. They yanked my foot but I kept my grip and tried to shake them off. I gritted my teeth and began to pull myself in further.

Surely the guards, with all their heavy armour, guns and everything, wouldn't be able to crawl in here like I can? They would be too large to fit in here, let alone crawl through.

I let go of one hand and put it as far forward as I could and gripped. I then did the same with my right hand and then pulled myself forward. The guard gave a shout of alarm and then there were two more sets of arms holding on to me, trying to tug me down.

I couldn't really win this way, they could administer something if given long enough. I thought about it for a moment, then I got an idea. Maybe I could venom blast them through my leg? I had no idea if I could do it this way, but there was no time like the present.

I bit my lip and sent one coursing down my body and to where they had a grip on me. There were three cries of pain and I pulled myself all the way into the vent. I rapidly crawled forward and as soon as the vent branched up I took the chance and decided to crawl up there. If I kept on going through the vents on this level to try and find or get to a more convenient exit they could follow me through the sound of me moving through here. I reached up and began my journey up.

I couldn't believe that it had taken them less than twenty seconds for them to reach my location and nearly take me down. How the hell was I supposed to escape when they could converge on me that quickly? I couldn't, as simple as that. When I got out of this place I would have to be as sneaky as possible and keep my trail hard to follow.

Except, if I was trying to be sneaky they might pounce on me and I would be backed up against a wall. And everyone here was probably trained to try there hardest to keep me here on this base. I would have to tread a very fine line between being invisible to them and fast enough to run if they caught up with me. I could burn that bridge when I got to it, now was not the time to be stressing over it.

The vent was pretty tall and by the time I had passed five levels I had realised that maybe I wasn't exactly where I thought I had been on the map. With the blaring of the alarms serving as background music, I realised that... maybe the map had been a little out of date because there hadn't been a vent that went up this high on it. I turned around so my back was sticking to the wall and looked up until my head was hitting the wall.

I squinted as I saw something... bright? It didn't seem like a torch, it was too soft of a light to be that. And it wasn't moving around like it would be doing if someone was trying to figure out what the little blob on the vent wall was. The light seemed to be up about... twenty-five to thirty levels up. This would be a pain.

I began to crawl up when I remembered that I was wearing webshooters and that they could easily get me up there much faster. Man, they made life so much easier.

I pointed them up, not bothering to aim because I couldn't properly see the top anyway, and shot a web as far up as it let me. As soon as I felt the web hit something up there I tugged on it to make sure it was holding before pulling myself up. What would have taken me a full minute or two had been slimmed down to twenty seconds at the most! I was really glad I had chanced it and grabbed them now.

As I reached the very top I squinted my eyes and struggled to adjust to the sunlight. My eyes stung with the effort and I had to look down again and give myself a few seconds before I tried again. Wasn't I supposed to be sleeping right now? Why was it day? I would think about that later.

The sun here was blinding, as the trees here seemed to be spread far apart from one another across a sandy grassy plain. I peered out, squinting, and faintly in the distance, I spotted what looked like mountains covered in a green, lush rainforest, its trees stretching high up into the sky. Immediately ahead of me, around three full-length buses if I was right, was the start of the tree-line. If I could even call it that with how spread apart the trees were.

I was in a... what was the word. I studied this in Geography! Sahara? No that's the name of a desert I'm pretty sure. Hmm. Savannah! That was it.

Oh crap, I was in a freaking _savannah_.

I ducked back down further so I was back in the darkness. If I tried to run that distance I would be taken down no doubt. They didn't even have a fence! It was almost like they had expected me to escape through the vents. I thought back to the map. So if I couldn't escape through the vents, since there was no cover at all nor was there a way to swing to safety, what could I do? Maybe when I reached that rainforest I could swing around but until then I couldn't.

Hmm.

No, that was ridiculous. I didn't even know how to properly work them!

But after a moment of pondering it was still the best idea I had. Which wasn't saying much.

I was going to escape on a motorbike.


	8. Chapter 8

I hesitated only a moment before I dropped down into the vehicle bay, feet hitting the paved ground with barely a sound.

I paused in place, trying to determine just how safe I was. It was quiet though, the blaring alarms muffled and far away. The only thing besides my own breathing disrupting the silence was the occasional sound of feet above or in the corridor outside. I ducked down low and moved behind a car. It wasn't much protection against someone spotting me but it did give me the opportunity to think.

I knew with the servers fried they would have a harder time following where I was because if my assumption was correct they wouldn't be able to watch security footage.

I knew that all, if not most, of the guards and agents, had been sent out to look for me. I mean, that was the only smart thing for them to do. If I escaped they would lose all of their test results and wouldn't be able to further there plan until they found some sort of replacement. Yet, surprisingly, there was no one in here except for this one guy who seemed to be having a nap in the opposite corner. I could relate.

They must think I'm going to escape some other way. I was more than glad now that I had thought of this.

So now I had to figure out the last part of my plan. Which was mostly on what vehicle to escape in. There was a plane on the opposite side of the room but I honestly had no idea how to operate one of those. At least with cars and bikes, I had a good idea.

I peeked around the side of my hiding spot, trying to decide which one I would get away on. I didn't think a car would be good, I couldn't make as tight of corners in it and I could easily crash into a tree or something with how wide they are. But if I was being shot at I would have more defence then I would have with a motorbike.

A motorbike seemed like the better fit, though. They were small, could get through places cars couldn't and it seemed pretty straightforward to ride. You just had to balance and turn the right handle-bar to pick up speed. Simple enough, hopefully. It also made more sense for a superhero whose powers were based in being graceful though strong, I was not made for brute force. I was made for dodging and punching. Ok so maybe brute force did come into it but my body still couldn't take as much of a pounding as other superheroes.

Thankfully for me I spotted about ten bikes over in the corner by the sleeping guy after a minute or so of looking around. I hadn't been able to see the motorbikes until I had looked around on my tippy-toes. Hm, the Hydra agent guy seemed to be dead to the world, so as long as I was quiet he shouldn't wake up to alert anyone. And if he did wake up while I was still getting ready to escape I could easily web him to the ground.

I walked over to the bikes quickly, keeping my senses alert to anyone coming in or the guy stirring. When I got over to the first bike I looked over it. There were no dents and the fuel gauge was full. As well as that, it seemed to be already turned on even though the engine wasn't humming. Maybe it was like one of those fuel-efficient cars that turn the engine off while they're at a standstill?

It was still weird, why would they have it turned on? Did they want it that way so they could get on it at a moments notice? That would make sense, especially with me on the run. It still seemed like a waste of petrol... but I shouldn't complain, it worked in my favour.

I glanced around again and found the helmets over by the sleeping guy. I know I could just escape now but I knew I had no protection on a bike. If I had a helmet on it could make the difference on whether I lived or not if I crashed. It could protect my head enough that something that might have made me pass out was now reduced to a bruise, I could run with an injury like that. And, as far-fetched as it seemed, it could also maybe slow down a bullet. If there was other protection like jackets and gloves lying around I would have put those on too, spandex wasn't enough to stop the ground from tearing up my skin if I crashed.

I slowly walked over to the helmets, keeping my movements as quiet as possible. I didn't want to waste webs if I could prevent it, so I couldn't web the guy up in a cocoon. Who knew how much I would need between now and getting home? I still had no idea how much webbing I actually on me.

I grabbed the first helmet I could and when I put it on I realised it was so loose it would do next to nothing if I crashed. I took it off and put on the one next to it, thankfully finding it at an acceptable tightness. I did the strap up and lifted the visor before walking back over to my chosen bike.

It was admittedly sleek and fancy looking. Hydra didn't put up with less than the best it seemed. I mean, the speed-gage went all the way up to two hundred and twenty kilometres an hour. That was really fast, which was perfect for me.

I got on it and lifted the kickstand up. I checked that the sleeping guy was still sleeping before pulling the visor down and rolling the bike forward a few feet. I took a deep breathe, a small nervous grin spreading across my face. If this worked it would be an amazing story to tell.

' _So how did you get out of there_?' They'll ask and I'll get to reply with; ' _I got on a bike. You should have seen there faces when I raced past them_!'

I turned the clutch and a loud roar erupted from the engine and I moved forward a meter or so. The Hydra agent in the corner startled awake. Crap. He was still bleary from sleep as he looked over at me, in full costume with a helmet on, clearly looking over at him even if he couldn't see my face. I turned the clutch one more time just to hear the engine roar before I rolled the motorbike forward and took off. I amazingly kept steady as I rapidly picked up speed as I approached the exit.

In the small space that the ramp up offered the sound of the engine was echoing around into one loud, spectacular sound. To me, it was the sound of freedom and almost like giving the whole of Hydra the finger. You can't trap a spider, we trap your resources in our web and use them against you! I really needed a better example but I couldn't care.

I was **_free!_**

The Hydra agents stationed at the exit turned to face me, but they seemed to be in shock at the sight of me because they didn't even lift their guns in the few seconds it took me to surge past them.

"WOOHOOO!" I yelled, wind whistling past me and muffling my voice.

I picked up speed till I was going at one-hundred kilometres an hour, head down and focused on avoiding crashing. The landscape was mostly flat which made my job easier and up ahead I could see a mountain, trees and a river. The river was closer than any of the rest, but the mountains were quite a long way away. If I could somehow get over to them maybe I could start covering my tracks and work out where I am. I was thinking I was maybe in Africa but I could just as easily be in Australia. I didn't know Geography all that well so my guess was basically just a shot in the dark.

I knew if I managed to get to the mountains and forest I would have to either get off the bike or risk crashing into a tree, but I couldn't care too much right now. I did trust my spidey powers to keep me safe.

There was a sudden loud roar behind me, which I was pretty sure was from the small tunnel. I risked glancing behind myself and watched in nervous horror as a good twenty odd cars emerged. They ranged in height and width, but all of them had Hydra agents with guns pointing out the window getting ready to aim at me. **S** ugar **H** oney **I** ce **T** ea!

I turned back around to face the front. Alright, alright. Don't panic yet. They were still too far behind me to shoot and as long as I was faster than them they shouldn't be able to shoot me. If I could just reach the trees or the mountain I should be able to get away, at least for a little bit. They would have bigger engines then mine, though. Which meant all of them could get further in a battle of endurance so I had to somehow take them all down before then.

I didn't have the trees yet or really anything in the landscape to get any of them to crash right now. I couldn't make some sort of trap either, nor could I run circles around them because I would be shot. I had no way to divert their attention, there wasn't anyone else for them to chase or whatever. All I had was my helmet, my webshooters, my costume and the bike. Nothing more, nothing less. Hmm.

I could fling my helmet at a windshield? No, no I should use that as an almost last resort. But maybe if I shot a web at their tires or windshield they would lose control or have to stop because they couldn't see. And if they did lose control they might take out another car with them. I didn't really want to kill anyone but I had to get away. I didn't have time to overthink this, so I kept one hand on the handlebars before twisting around to face the oncoming cars.

I bit my lip, aimed and shot a web at the closest cars tires. It caught in such a way that the tire couldn't move and the car skidded, swinging around and stopping which forced another car to stop.

"Holy crap, that actually worked," I whispered, stunned. If I managed to take them all down I might get away with relative ease!

I aimed again at the next closest car, but when I shot the web I hadn't aimed right and instead it hit a windshield. Luckily enough it was right in front of the drivers field of vision so they had to slow down. Three down, seventeen to go! Seventeen to go. Um.

Ugh, who was I kidding, there was no way I would be able to take them all down in time! They could get that plane or a helicopter out and then no matter how much distance I made with or without the cars following me they would still catch up to me.

I had to be smarter about this. I was one human against a whole organisation filled with thousands, maybe even millions of people. I had to do the unexpected, I mean this motorbike had been a smart idea especially since myself and maybe the guards stationed around had been expecting me to get out of the vents. But... I hadn't webbed all the other cars down so they couldn't follow me that way. Hindsight was a bitc-

My spider-sense sent off a shrill alarm and I swerved suddenly to the right. I heard a gunshot ring out a moment later. Crap, I couldn't turn around anymore to take them down, not until I was out of range of their guns. I had to be able to swerve and that could be dangerous, even with my powers, if I was turned to face them.

I bit my lip, I _had_ to use my surroundings. Hmm. If I was being honest, my helmet was something they could use to trail me and I couldn't see _all_ of my surroundings with it on. I took a deep breath and unbuckled it. Carelessly I tossed it high in the air and heard it crash against something. Now, what else could I do?

I looked back to the trees, mountains and river again. Well, I was going to try and escape through the trees but it looked like they were far off in the horizon, they would definity catch up to me before then. I might not have that amount of time to escape. They could be firing up a helicopter right now! Which left... the river. I glanced at it, trying to estimate how deep and wide it was. If from here it looked like an averagely sized river, if there even was something like that, then it must be pretty wide.

There was no telling what creatures might be in there, but it would be worth it if I could make them lose my trail for long enough I might be able to get out of their radar completely as I got home. If I swam underwater for long enough I might even be able to convince them I'd drowned or something. And they wouldn't be able to follow me in there. I wouldn't think any of them would swim and it would certainly take them a bit to get a boat out and prepped to search for me.

It was perfect! Except for the part where I might actually drown and get killed by something in there.

...

Worth it.

I accelerated forward even faster, fast enough that if I wobbled even a little bit I might go flying off of it, and aimed myself towards the river. I could care less about the bike, it wasn't mine and it wasn't like I could swim with it. It would give away where I was, to start with. I was not going to be bringing it with me.

My spider-sense went off with another warning, but this time I didn't swerve out of the way of the bullet because it fell short. I carefully swung a leg over on to the other side, getting ready to jump off the bike and into the water. I just had to hope it was deep enough that I wouldn't get hurt when I got in. It could easily be very shallow and that would hurt. But if I did get hurt I would heal, which would be better then if they got me.

The sand gave way to stone, the bike bumping along it a little bit worryingly, and when I was just a few meters away from the water I jumped into the air and dived into the water, gunshots firing rapidly behind me in a last attempt to take me down.

The water was surprisingly cold and my breath was taken away as I was dragged further underwater by the current until I hit the bottom. It carried me along swiftly and ferociously, and it made me feel almost weak. Even with all my powers, I would struggle to swim in the opposite direction if I tried to.

The water was murky and I struggled to open my eyes. Even with my eyes open, I could barely see beyond my hand even when I strained to. I couldn't hear, and I definitely didn't want to open my mouth. Who knew what diseases were in this water? I did trust my body to fight off most, if not all, infections or illnesses but still.

I would have to trust my spider-sense to warn me of oncoming objects or animals.

I kicked my body into action and began to swim forward. The longer I held my breath, the better.


	9. Chapter 9

I swam through the murky water, the current accelerating me along at a faster pace then even _I_ could swim. From what I could tell I had been underwater for about two minutes and I had made significant progress downstream. Not enough to beat a boat, but enough that if one of the agents was watching for me from the side of the river I would be long gone by now. I had already gone past two bends in the river which was pretty great progress.

It was almost calming here underwater after the chaos that had been my escape, even with the still ever-present threat of Hydra, even as my lungs burned for air. They might kill me if they found me, that much was obvious, and that's still a terrifying burden to have to rest on my shoulders. I had to try and get home with them watching like hawks would rabbits, with no outside help. Hydra could be anywhere.

I mean, in the end, I guess I wasn't that much of a help as a superhero. I only stopped petty crime and helped old ladies cross the street. So if I died I wouldn't think that anyone would care for superhero-me but I had Ganke and my parents, they would miss me. Also, I didn't want to die an agonising death so there was that. If I had to give up being a superhero if it meant living relatively peacefully with Mum and Dad... I would take it in a heartbeat.

Being a superhero had brought me way too much grief already...

I was glad that at least for the moment I would be able to tell when Hydra was following me. I would feel the vibrations or waves of a boat coming after me. They couldn't really sneak up on me in the water.

I mean, if they tried on a boat they would be too loud, if they turned the engine off and paddled I would be faster than them and there was no way that someone could set up and scuba after me in time, if they tried to shoot me I could drown and even then it was almost impossible to see anything in here with how dirty the water was. I trusted my powers enough to keep me out of immediate peril, and I felt more certain of them in general after having them tested so thoroughly. If any good came out of all of this, that was it.

And I mean, I had snuck away right under Hydra's noses! The best part was that they had been none the wiser, at least for the most part. Even when they did know I was escaping they didn't really know where in the facility I was because they hadn't thought that I would escape that way.

Just, little ol' me against thousands of trained Hydra agents, and I had lived to tell the tale. It felt surreal to even acknowledge that. I couldn't even imagine telling younger me that this would happen.

I couldn't get too cocky about it, I knew that. I still had a long way until I got home, depending on where I was. I could still be in the US, or I could be all the way in Australia for all I knew. So if I stuffed up at any point or left a big enough trail for them to follow they would be on me like lions to a lone antelope. Or something. Point is, they wanted me, and even when I got home I wouldn't be safe. I might have to be constantly on the lookout but I could do it. I _would_ do it.

The biggest middle finger I could give them was living my life as normally as possible, and that's what I had every intention of doing.

I mean, I could always ask for help. SHIELD would help me, right? I didn't think that Fury was heartless. He had let me be Spider-man and had even given me a costume. I... _did_ also have really important information about Hydra. I had lived with them for about a month, after all.

Wait. Oh man, that meant people would ask about where I had been and what had happened to me. Crap, I did _not_ want that sort of attention.

But, **maybe** Hydra wouldn't try too hard to get me. I was only one person. I didn't know too much about the base or how it was run, and I would only have a vague description of where the base was if SHIELD asked me. Nor was I that unique of a superhero. I had all the powers plus two of Peter's. Still, I was the start of some project of theirs and they wouldn't want anyone knowing about it to potentially shut it down. So I guess it would be easier for them to kill me before I caused them any more damage...

If they didn't decide to experiment on me first. Strap me down to a cold metal table and figure out my pain threshold before cutting me open. Exploring my insides... ignoring my screams.

With my lungs aching from lack of air, which was not helped by how I had lost some when the cold water had greeted me, I picked up my pace as much as possible before I would run out. I didn't want to drown but I also didn't want to surface until I was well and truly far away. If they had somehow managed to follow the course of this river in the cars then I would be in trouble. Maybe if I swam more to the opposite side of the river I could quickly get out in case I needed to? Seemed like a good idea. They couldn't exactly cross over this. I didn't think there was a bridge anywhere close to me, well at least as far as I knew. It seemed like a really rural area, so no infrastructure would be a reasonable assumption.

But what did I know?

Well, even if there was a bridge, if I was far away from the bridge I could make lots of progress or even hide before they would be able to get to me. Even just hiding under the potential bridge might work for a little bit.

Maybe I could then somehow hijack a car and keep on speeding on? I knew I couldn't play the same trick twice with the motorcycles but if I somehow made it look like it was just Hydra agents in the car I could manage to get away, at least for a bit longer.

I did know all this was hypothetical but it really could make a huge difference if I had _some_ sort of plan ahead of time. Also, it definitely helped me not completely and one-hundred percent freak out about all of this so there was that.

I tried to move towards the other side of the river, and then I realised something. The current was great for keeping me moving forward fast even if I decided to take a break, but it was also strong enough to make it hard to reach the side.

But I wasn't panicking yet. It was weird, yeah, but surely if I breached the surface it would be easier to get to the side but I still had maybe a minute more of air before I really _needed_ to surface. I kept swimming forward, determined not to worry about it too much.

There was a twinge in my spider-sense and when I paid attention to it, I realised it was getting stronger. It wasn't at a pace that was especially alarming but it was enough for me to notice and worry at what was causing it.

Was Hydra approaching? Was there an animal in the water that wanted to take a nibble on me? I sped up, whatever it was I didn't want anything to do with it. That's when I noticed that somehow the current was getting faster and swirling around me more. My spider-sense was beginning to go wild. What could that be from-?

I cried out, losing precious air, as I smacked into something. _Boulder_ , my mind supplied.

I went to try and surface, to swim out of the way or _something_ , **_anything_** , but my spider-sense shrieked too late for me to do something and I had to brace myself to hit another boulder. And another. I tried again when my spider-sense was calming down a little bit more but my spider-sense sent off a shrill alarm once more. I barely had time to process this before I hit the last boulder with my left arm outstretched. My body slammed in after it, worsening the impact of it and there was an audible ' ** _snap_** ' even underwater.

Even as dazed as I was, my heart sank. This wasn't good.

I felt relieved that I couldn't feel it yet. I was numb and would be until the adrenaline wore off. The immediate danger was gone and my spider-sense was quiet so I let myself be pushed down to the bottom of the river by the current, using this to help myself as I pushed off the mud as soon as I felt it. Using both arms, even though I knew it could cause further damage to my injured arm, in just a few seconds I successfully managed to breach the surface of the water. I gasped in a breath of fresh air, like a thirsty man in a desert who had just found water, then gasped in a few more until I accidentally sucked in some water from my mask and coughed.

I breathed a few more times, tipping my head forward so I wouldn't inhale any more water. When the dizziness was more manageable I grabbed my mask and lifted it up above my nose, though not off.

The water was still carrying me along so I let myself relax and float on the top, catching my breath.

I felt tired, which I knew was probably because I had gotten no sleep last night, or maybe it was because of not having oxygen for several minutes... but I'll just blame it on lack of sleep.

It didn't really help that it had been day when I got out, when they had been treating it like it was night. I was supposed to be "in bed" right now. It hadn't been _that_ long since I had asked to go to the bathroom.

What was with that? Maybe they were doing it so that when I got out I would be even more exhausted trying to adjust. Or maybe it was that thing I had heard of that happens when you change time-zones. Jet something or other.

I guess the most worrying thing right now was that I was dizzy and lightheaded. It could be because I'm tired, it could be from the ever-growing pain in my arm whenever I moved, or it could be because I had held my breath for too long, it could be from the exhaustion of fighting and fitting into cramped spaces...

Whatever the cause was, if I fainted or my awareness or even my reflexes were slow because of it, it wouldn't be good. I could drown or even if I didn't drown and just floated Hydra could catch up and then I could be shot or caught again. Then all of this would have been for nothing.

I looked around, eyes drooping worryingly, and spotted a log just a few meters away. I could hold on to that and pass out without drowning! I would get further away without too much hassle, too, and if I just held on to the bottom I would be hidden from sight if they came along. I paddled over with one hand pushing me forward (I had to be mindful of my new... injured arm ((I wouldn't call it broken, not until I got a proper look. It was probably denial but whatever, it was just... sprained maybe)) and grabbed on to the bottom of the log with my okay arm.

It took me a couple of minutes, but eventually, I fell asleep hanging on to it, floating on my back with my arm hugged to my chest.

* * *

My spider-sense began to go off at a low but insistent hum, urgent enough to pull me out of my dreamless sleep. I blinked a few times, eyes fuzzy with sleep, immediately noticing that my arm was aching badly. It was like a hot blade was simmering on my wrist without cooling down. I was surprised that that hadn't woken me up sooner. It hurt _badly_. I would have to look at it as soon as possible and see what I could do...

I glanced up at the sky and noticed that the sun was setting. Definitely not rising because the sky was getting increasingly dark. So I had been floating around for maybe... four hours? Something close to that anyway. I had escaped and fell asleep around mid-day so yeah, about that. Well maybe longer, probably longer cause I had no idea what time the sun sets here compared to New York. Who knew? I could have been asleep for twelve hours.

I carefully peeked over the log, I had to find the source of my spider-sense before anything bad happened, cause it was bad enough to wake me up. It could be an animal in the water. But as my spider-sense got stronger and stronger, I noticed a boat in the distance. It wasn't moving along very fast, but it was rumbling along at a steady pace. Probably not fishers then, cause they would go to a location and then stop the boat, right? Right. The people on it were looking around from various spots in the boat, peering around as if they were searching for something, or someone.

If they weren't Hydra agents I would be legitimately surprised.

I slowly and carefully moved my log closer to the bank of the river, heart beginning to pound loudly in my chest. Maybe being closer to the bank would help them not spot me, as they would have fewer angles to see me and if they did I would be out of the water running in a quicker amount of time. I couldn't exactly hide underwater, which was better because the water was murky and hard to see through, because not only would they be able to catch up to me if they spotted me (I wouldn't be able to beat a _boat_ in a race _while_ in _water_ even if I tried!) but I don't think I could hold my breath long enough for them to pass and disappear from sight.

I wasn't going to climb out of the water either. They would undoubtedly spot me getting out and then they would have a trail to follow. I was going to take a chance and try and hide under their noses. I would have to climb out of the water soon anyway but I would do it when Hydra wasn't around.

If they did spot me though, I could get out and run. I could outrun a human easily. Cars were a different manner but it didn't look like they had any cars with them.

I kept my head down so low that I could only breathe through my nose. I had edged my way almost to the bank when the boat began to pass by me. I held my breath, keeping very close to the log.

"Why couldn't they have a red and blue costume like the last one?" I heard one of them complain, "He just had to have a black costume!"

I tensed up, they were closer than I thought. I kept silent, not daring to even move my legs to swim in case they saw the movement in the water. This was the moment of truth. If they saw me I would be almost back to square one. They would be on to me like... pigeons to birdseed. Or something.

"Shut up, he might be nearby. We can't give away our position." Another agent scowled. I mean, they weren't wrong. I was right under their noses. For once, more literally than figuratively.

"Might? I doubt it. If I was him, I would have gotten up and run as fast as my little spider legs could take me. " The first one said dismissively.

"Henry didn't see him resurface, and you guys know how good his eyesight is. I bet he drowned," yet another one argued.

"No way, he's a smart kid. He wouldn't drown. I reckon we're looking like idiots while he's laughing his head off here in Wakanda." The fourth one explained.

...

...

I was in **_Wakanda_**?

 _What the actual **heck**_. Why the _flipping heck_ would Hydra take me _here_?

The boat passed by, its occupants and the conversations they were having drifting away with them. I waited until they were around the next bend and out of sight before I swam over to the shore. I climbed out, dripping wet, and went over to the closest tree. It was big enough for me to hide behind without anyone on the river being any wiser.

I sat down and took my mask off, placing it beside me. I couldn't believe that Hydra had decided to take me here of all places. I was so far from home, too! At least Wakanda was friendly, for the most part. I still wouldn't go to the authorities for help because Hydra might be able to get me if I was kept in one place, but with the country being so small and... third world no doubt Hydra would have plenty of connections in there. I couldn't go to the police even if I really wanted to here.

But I had more pressing issues to think about right now, like my arm.


	10. Chapter 10

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for something horrible and painful. I slowly moved my arm in front of myself, being wary of any sudden movements that might aggravate it, and winced. It had swelled to twice its own size. I bit my lip and experimentally wiggled a finger.

A sharp pain, like ice on a recent burn, made me suck in a sharp breath. _Crap_ , that hurt like a _son of a gun_.

Okay, think. Don't panic.

From what I had read on WebMD (I had looked at all sorts of injuries in case I got hurt. No that wasn't weird, that was practical) stuff like this would only happen if it was broken. At least I was pretty sure. Swelling could happen in sprained wrists too but I had definitely heard a crack. Maybe it was just a fracture, but I had my bets on my bones being slightly apart.

If they were broken apart completely they could heal wrong, too. I was no expert but they could be blocking off a vein (that was a thing that happens, which was scary), but if I did have to reset it I would probably do it wrong. For one, I had no idea what position they were actually in and two I could easily make it so much worse. I wasn't a doctor, so I wasn't going to try anything stupid.

But, if I had to wait for treatment and if it was really bad... I would be at a severe disadvantage in a fight. It could slow me down and the pain could distract me. I didn't want to get captured again because I broke my wrist.

I just had to be thankful it wasn't my thigh bone or something. I'm not sure how I would get away with that kind of injury since it would be excruciating to even take a step.

In the meantime, I would have to try and care for it another way. I was thinking of making a sling or webbing it to my body so I wouldn't jostle it while it healed. Then when I get to a town or city, or the next bit of civilisation, I could get a more permanent cast or sling for the rest of its healing (I didn't think it was a good idea to waste all my webs on this, since the webbing dissolves in an hour. I couldn't keep on reapplying it, what if it dissolved in the middle of a fight? I would quickly run out of webbing, too). I didn't think I would get a cast though, I didn't want to trust someone enough for them to put one of those on me. Especially when they could turn me into the police or even be apart of Hydra. Anyone could be apart of Hydra, they looked just as human as the rest of us so I couldn't exactly look at someone and go 'they're a Hydra goon.'

I shook my head lightly, focusing back in on my wrist. There weren't any lumps that would suggest the bones had separated so I could probably trust my healing thingy to fix it. I had no idea how long it would take to do it but it would heal.

I very cautiously grabbed a loose bit of glove and slowly got it off of my wrist. I noted that my webshooters had miraculously come out unscathed (guess Peter had made them pretty resilient or something). There was also a lot of bruising wrapped around my arm in ugly shades of purple and blue. Yep, that wasn't good, but at least there was no bone coming out of my skin.

I shuddered, that would be horrifying.

I unclipped my webshooter and clipped it securely around my right arm before I attached a web to my left palm. I began the process of wrapping my arm up securely. I wrapped my fingers too, though I kept it loose enough that I could wriggle them, but not my palm, around.

When I was done, I leaned back to admire it. It was pretty good, all things considered. Hopefully, it would help. I attached one last web to it and wrapped it around myself to create a sling.

With that sorted, for the time being, I put my mask back on and tucked my glove into my neck. I didn't have any pockets so I had to make do. I stood back up and glanced back at the river. By this point, night had fallen completely. There was no artificial light coming from anywhere to suggest Hydra was around, and the only light that _was_ around was from the half-moon in the sky and the glowing eyes in the distance. I swallowed and leaned back into the tree.

Now what?

I took a deep breath then took a proper look around me. About maybe a ten-minute walk, or a five minute run, from my estimates, was a mountain. When I squinted I thought there might be some kind of... faint glow over the mountain but it seemed more like my eyes were playing tricks on me. It didn't really matter too much, whatever the cause. I glanced back towards the river, there was only flat land filled with trees for as far as I could see.

The choice was really obvious, I just had to hope that Hydra hadn't figured this out and stationed themselves on the mountains. Or that they still had no idea that I was alive.

With a determined stride, I set off at a fast walk. There was no point in running and aggravating my arm, well maybe there was a point. I did want to make as much distance as possible. In the long run, I don't think it'll matter too much.

I was glad I wasn't as dripping wet as when I had gotten out, because as I walked along bits of sand I kicked up and kept on sticking to my costume, giving it a dusty, dirty look. It was more annoying then bad, but it was notable in that I would have to wash my costume when I got home... or if. I had to be realistic and being realistic was that I might never get home again with Hydra breathing down my neck. As soon as I have the chance, I'll call home.

How long had I been gone anyway? With them making day night and night day in the base for me I had no idea if they had changed my sleeping schedule from twenty-four hours to something like thirty-six hours. Without any proper sunlight, my body wouldn't know, especially because my body could take the extra hours asleep or awake. Heck, when I had been patrolling with barely four hours before school started I had been mostly fine without any sleep. I never did that for more than a week. The point was, if I wasn't aware of the change my body wouldn't know either.

But in any case, it had been way too long. I couldn't wait to go home and see everyone again. Who knew just how many exams I had missed? Maybe Hydra had taught me more then I would have learned back home, but if none of the lessons lined up with the education system then it would be of no use to me.

Ugh, I really shouldn't think that far ahead. I shouldn't even let myself get distracted from my surroundings. Any small movement, no matter how close or far, could spell out Hydra and if I wasn't paying attention, and was going on and on about home, I could very easily get myself caught. Or some big animal like a lion or elephant could attack me and I really didn't want that. I was in no state to fight.

I refocused on my surroundings. I was getting close to the mountain and that weird glow was still there. It wasn't any brighter or anything from when I had been back by the river, which was strange in itself, to be honest, but it was there. I did hope that I would get the chance to take a proper look at what was causing it when I reached the top. Or maybe I wouldn't, maybe I would never get the chance.

In the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter much. But I could still be curious.

Maybe this would have been the thing to make me a bad field agent for Hydra? Yeah, they could try and train it out of me but curiosity is a basic instinct. The brain is constantly soaking up information like a sponge, and on a mission, everything you don't know could change whether you're caught or not, whether you find the evidence or not, if you live or not, if you succeed or not. It might have been interesting in a birds eye, third person kind of way as to how they would have dealt with it.

I was getting closer to the mountain when I noticed something that stretched a long way into the distance. It was a fence.

The closer I got, the more details I could see. It was metal and was about three meters high, its chains links tightly packed together, almost too small for my foot to fit in. What was something like this doing out here? As far as I knew, Wakanda was some remote farming place that didn't really have anything to its name. It was just that one place that is mentioned once in Geography and then you go on to do something else.

I hesitated a moment before hugging my left arm securely to my chest. There was no way but forward, and this fence was hardly a barrier. I quickly climbed over the fence and hit the ground with a quiet 'thump.' I looked around a moment, everything was still the same, no sirens were wailing, it wasn't Hydras then. I shrugged to myself and continued on. Why on earth was that fence even needed in the first place?

Shrugging it off monetarily, I continued at my quick walking pace. If that fence was blocking off some sort of important or dangerous thing I would find out soon, and if it wasn't it wasn't I could forget about it. I mean, maybe I had been on the enclosed side? It could easily be owned by Hydra. Which I really hoped it wasn't but who knew? Well, the lack of sirens and spider-sense told me it probably wasn't...

I had nearly reached the start of the mountain when the world suddenly flickered into a murky atmosphere.

In front of me the world seemed to have completely changed, yet when I flicked my head back to look behind me I found everything unchanged, if still swirling and murky from this weird space I had found myself in.

My heart was beating faster than normal, I wasn't scared... but I was incredibly wary. I wasn't. I could easily be hallucinating, or maybe it was something to do with the landscape. A cloud? No, no it wasn't that.

Maybe... maybe Hydra had made some sort of cloaking device so the rest of the world wouldn't see the base? Maybe that's it? Seemed the most probable, especially after that fence back there.

I bit my lip before stepping back into the familiar landscape I had been walking in only seconds before. I made sure I was away from the weird... place before looking back. To find it gone. My frown deepened, wouldn't Hydra want to see into the opposite side? They could stop people coming in that way. So it couldn't be Hydra.

What was being protected then...?

I glanced back towards the river, it was either going through the weird murky place to the opposite side or going back across the river and trying my luck that way. Yeah, nup. I was going to go with my gut here and it said keep going.

Taking a deep breath, wondering if this was entirely smart and if it would get me killed, I walked back into the murky... thing. This time, however, I didn't hesitate and continued forward. I walked into a different layer that made the different landscape in front of me clearer, few more steps forward and it happened again and after the final one I stepped through and found myself _in_ that landscape.

Um, what?

I looked back and found that the landscape I had been looking through was now just slightly murky and swirling. So, it was like a two-way mirror. People could look through from this side into the other side but not the other way around. My chest tightened and I determinedly ignored it.

I turned back to look in front of me. In the distance, I could see what looked like a town or city of some sort. Maybe I could find some bandages and some clothes there?

* * *

Cautiously I hugged the wall of the first house on the outskirts of this town. It looked higher tech then I imagined Wakanda would have their things, if this _was_ Wakanda, but I wasn't complaining too much. There might be better stuff than just a cloth to wrap my arm with. I gave my arm a quick glance, it was still throbbing painfully but I was determinately keeping my mind on my current goals. I didn't want to be distracted.

My main goal was just to find a bit of cloth, but as my stomach now began to remind me I could also do with some food. Maybe some clothes to fit in around here too, because I would look bizarre in this and could easily make a trail for Hydra to follow. I knew that I had gone out of my way to get this costume but it... it was still important. If I got into a fight having my costume on would work with me better than normal clothes. Aerodynamics and all that jazz.

I grabbed on to the wall of the building, it would probably be better to be above everything, right? I grabbed the wall and hesitated, looking back at my arm.

I knew I could technically get up the wall without it, that my strength and balance would keep me from falling, but what if I fell from up high onto my arm? It would undoubtedly be worse than if I was just on the ground in the first place. Also, someone might... notice me and my swollen arm, and help me. Maybe. Should I even trust anyone?

I wanted to believe most people were good, but when you're all the way in Africa having just escaped from one of the bases of a world-wide semi-secret bad guy organisation that had connections in every single country whose slogan was "cut off one head and two more will form" it was pretty hard to trust anyone.

That sounded paranoid, surely not everyone was a part of Hydra? And why would they have Hydra boats looking for me on the river when they could just have people around here looking around for me? They obviously thought I had probably drowned. I wouldn't exactly knock on someone's door, but if someone saw me I would... should accept help. As long as they didn't set off my spider-sense. That was a good idea, right? Trusting my gut.

 ** _Cough_** \- except that hadn't stopped me getting caught by Hydra- **_cough_**.

I walked over to the edge of the building where the street actually started, it was deathly quiet, early morning meaning everyone was in bed, or at least in their house. I ran my hand over the top of my masked head nervously, it was the perfect time to be here. I should be fine.

I walked on to the street and began to walk around, keeping an eye out for anything that looked like food, clothes, or some sort of cloth. I knew I would probably have to steal, I hated it but it really was the only way besides from going door to door asking for things I need. There was no way on earth I would do that, if Hydra _did_ come in here and asked after me they could easily point them in the right direction. If they knew the general area of where I am... then they'll descend on me like hawks.

I mean, yeah I sneaked out from right under their noses but I wasn't going to rely on that fact or any more luck in the future. I had to think logically, not idealistically, in all of this. One wrong move and I could potentially be caught again.

And be killed. Never properly saying goodbye to Mum and Dad or Ganke, never being able to take down the disgusting project that caused all of this in the first place, never preventing all of this happening to someone else just like me.

I wasn't going to let that happen.

I continued along the quiet streets with feet as quiet as shadows, trying my hardest not to disturb the ground nor cause a sound. I was five, maybe ten, minutes into my search when I finally found some clotheslines connected between two buildings about two stories up. On it, it had robes that were colourful and clearly meant to be wrapped around someone's body. That was good, I would be able to hide my injured arm _and_ my costume!

I went to the side of the building, running a hand along the side of the cement building. I gave a quick glance to my surroundings before gripping the wall with my free hand and beginning my climb. I tried to be as careful as possible but as I was unused to wall-crawling with just one hand it was slow going. I had to reach my hand up before pulling my legs up, unlike my usual crawl. In just under a minute I was on the wall nearly level with the clothes hanger.

It was full, and the robe I had spotted that I thought I might be able to get away with wearing was all the way in the middle of it. Life really hated me. It looked big enough to wrap all of me up and subtle enough to blend into a crowd. The closer ones looked like they wouldn't fit me or were too flashy for me to walk through a crowd.

I either had the option to web it to myself, figure out a way to move the clothesline or... I really had no idea. I didn't want to wreck someone's property trying to get it. If I tried webbing it myself I could break the line but if I tried finding the proper way to move the line towards me I could waste time and be discovered.

Not be a jerk or not risk Hydra finding me... Choices, choices...

There was a shrill scream behind me and I whipped around, looking through the window behind me to see someone staring at me with wide, fearful eyes.

Crap. They just had to scream and alert the whole neighbourhood...


	11. Chapter 11

I looked around, freaking out, subconsciously spotting any and all escape routes, and trying to figure out what the hell to do now that I had been spotted. Do I run? Do I try and calm them? Do I explain what's going on?

I would have run by now but my limbs had locked in place from panic. I was unable to do anything except stare at the lady who had screamed when she had spotted me. She looked just as frozen as I was, her hand covering her mouth, eyes wide and panting.

Why was it that I didn't freeze up when faced with a physical threat like Hydra _literally chasing after me_ _in cars_ but suddenly someone screaming at me when I was trying to do something that was against the law but so I didn't alert anyone or die in the future... and I was stuck in place like a deer in headlights. C'mon brain, this is the exact opposite of what I need right now!

I swallowed, now that they knew I existed maybe I could get help from them? If I explained what happened they might not call the police - because I had obviously scared them half to death and I might look like a weird humanoid because of my large bug-like lenses. It would start a trail that Hydra could track and I had only _just_ made them lose it. I couldn't let that happen.

Maybe if I told them they would get me something to wrap my probably broken wrist in too! Maybe some hot food and clothes... hot food sounded delicious right about now. I wouldn't hold out for a shower, however, I was getting pretty dirty but that wasn't that big of a problem.

So, hesitantly and slowly as not to startle them any further, I raised my arm and gave them a small wave.

Their panting and panicking seemed to calm down a little bit, enough for them to give me more of a confused look than a terrified one. They took a cautious step forward and when I did nothing except relax my tense stance, they gained enough confidence to come over to the window. They paused a few feet from me.

"Ungubani?" they said in a very muffled voice. I frowned, what did they

"Um, what? I didn't quite catch that..." I said, feeling the urge to rub the back of my neck but stopped before I lifted a hand. Injured arms were so annoying.

They tilted their head, obviously confused. Why were they looking at me like that? Was the window muffling my voice that much? Surely not, I could understand their gibberish sort of fine! "What you said? Yeah, I didn't understand a word of it." I said, my voice dropping into a monotone one. I was too tired from everything to be angry, frustrated, or anything like that. I was in pain, I wanted my arm fixed, clothes to keep warm and blend into a crowd in, a shower and warm food. Was having of that too much of an ask?

According to life, yes.

"Andiyi kuqonda into oyithethayo." She said, frowning and crossing her arms.

Okay, so the gibberish was probably just her language. Which meant she couldn't speak English. I mean, ok wow, that was pretty ignorant of me. Of course she wasn't going to know what I was saying, this wasn't a country that was a part of the Western world. It wasn't expected of her to speak English. I knew that many people studied English even when they were in places like India but they often had some tourism from English speaking countries. Wakanda... didn't.

Some parts of Africa accepted aid but Wakanda refused any and shut down any attempts to help them, so people wouldn't travel for that. There weren't any sights to see besides from farmlands... but obviously Wakanda wasn't all it made itself up to be. I wonder what they are trying to hide, anyway? I wasn't going to discover that now while I was here, I had things like not dying to worry about, but it was curious.

I shook my head lightly, trying to get back on track, neither of us speaking the other's language was going to be a problem. I couldn't tell her about Hydra, so SHIELD would never really get notified about them because this lady couldn't tell the authorities here, so it broke any chance of them being shut down. It also meant that I had to somehow explain that my arm needed a bandage and I would like some clothes without freaking her out.

This was going to be a pain, but with all of this in mind, I made a quick decision and began to tentatively pull off the glove on my injured arm. I exposed my swollen and bruised wrist, and now I could properly see it in the sunlight even I winced.

Her eyes widened and I sighed in relief as it appeared she understood what I needed. She finally came over to the window and pulled it open. I hovered just outside, glancing between her and her home. She rolled her eyes and waved me inside.

Seeing no other reason to hesitate (my spidey-sense was very calm right now), I climbed inside with my arm kept close enough so it didn't bump against the window frame. I couldn't be bothered to take any more steps. I slumped against the wall and took my mask off in one fluid motion.

I felt... exhausted. Really exhausted. Mentally and physically. I guess my escape from Hydra, the motorbike chase and the swimming had taken more out of me than I had thought.

I mean, I guess I hadn't allowed myself the chance to properly process what was in store for me either. Like the fact that I was all the way in Africa. The fact that I had to somehow sneak my way half-way across the world before Hydra caught up to me. Or that on top of all of this... I hadn't seen home in something like a month. Physically, beyond my arm, my eyes were drooping alarmingly quickly, pleading for a proper sleep and not just the mindless unconsciousness of being knocked out, because otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to sleep with the sharp agony in my wrist.

Suffice to say, I was not doing a hundred-percent. I was probably around fifty or forty percent. Maybe less...

The lady looked on with a small frown on her face before she went into another room, probably to get something to help me. Or to alert Hydra. Eh, I could escape out the window before someone got to me, right? I didn't bother to move into a position which would make my escape quicker, I couldn't be bothered.

Maybe that was concerning too but whatever.

While I waited for them to come back, I studied my arm. Yep, it had definitely swelled more, somehow going from twice its normal size to three times. Impressive. The bruises had gone a more mustard yellow around the centre of my injury and had spread further down. The purple bruises had gone halfway down my arm and just past my knuckles. That wasn't good. Hopefully, if she was going to help me, whatever she brings back would help boost my healing factor just enough that it would heal relatively soon. Relatively soon being an optimistic couple of day or a hopeful week.

After a couple of minutes with the sound of shuffling, one crash, what sounded like a swear word and then she finally came back holding a ball of something I recognised instantly as bandages and a bottle. I raised an eyebrow at the bottle, what was any type of liquid going to do for a broken wrist? Maybe it was something superstitious, like how people prayed for people to get better.

"Oku kuya kukulimaza. Kuya kukunceda nangona kunjalo." She said softly before holding her palm out expectantly. I hesitated a moment before extending my arm out for her to grab.

She gave me a quick sympathetic look before she opened the bottle and squirted some warm liquid (that sort of looked like conditioner, except it was green) onto my arm. I watched in nervous confusion, wondering what was supposed to happen. At the very least it wasn't sending my spidey-sense off.

She gave me a long look, studying my face before she slowly reached down and pressed into the gel-like substance and began to spread it. I bit down hard enough to taste blood to suppress the scream that threatened to once again alert anyone nearby to what was happening. I couldn't hold everything back, however, and closed my eyes and whined in pain.

"Uxolo, xola," she murmured, her voice sounding... sorry? At the very least she sounded understanding and empathetic. She continued to rub the green conditioner stuff all along my arm and fingers, all the way up to my elbows. It seemed bizarre, what was it supposed to do? But it felt nice, as it seemed to ease the pain. The warmth helped too, like a heat pack on an aching muscle.

When she seemed satisfied she finally grabbed the roll of bandage, wrapped my arm up similarly as to what I had done with my webs and created a sling so it could sit comfortably. Finally done, she smiled at me before standing back up again.

My face probably looked very confused. I _was_ very confused, even as I was grateful. I mean, without a word she had given me something for my probably broken wrist. And she had all this stuff lying around the house, too...

Was she a doctor or something? Did I get really get that lucky? I mean, my luck was crap. Why did Karma decide that now was the time to help me? It felt suspicious, but I didn't want to question it too much. In case luck decided to turn against me again and whoops turns out they're arresting me or are apart of Hydra or something.

Huh, I wondered if my luck would also allow me to get on a plane courtesy of someone so I got home really quickly.

Actually, that wasn't a bad idea... Not the getting help from someone part, but getting on a plane or a boat. Wait no, it was a pretty obvious choice. I wasn't going to even try and hide on a boat for a couple months or something. That was dumb. But! There would probably be more security at airports that could pick me out and alert Hydra... I would think about it later.

The nice lady had stood up and I could hear the sounds of a kettle boiling. I wondered how I would ask her for some clothes to borrow, since that was the last thing I could reasonably ask of her.

I guess I could point at the clothesline or something. Maybe they had a phone so I could ask for it google translate? If they had a phone. They probably had a phone.

It was weird to think that less than twenty-four hours ago I was wondering how I could sneak out from under Hydra's nose. Less than twenty-four hours I had escaped on a freaking motorbike of all things. So much had happened since escaping that it felt like so long ago. The journey ahead of me was long, but getting from home, to Hydra and then escaping and reaching this moment right here had been just as long too. It was beyond weird to think about.

When she finally did come back in I grabbed her attention by raising my uninjured arm, then I tugged on my costume a couple of times. She frowned, tilting her head a little bit before she seemed to get the idea and went to a nearby desk drawer where she pulled out a large piece of cloth. She chucked it in my direction, it hit me square in the chest, and then the kettle whistled. She left the room again.

I held it out in front of me with my one spare arm and found it to be so large it was dragging on the ground a bit. I guess I was supposed to put it on like a robe? It would hide all of my costume and arm pretty well. So, I wrapped it around myself sort of how I would a scarf, except I left the fabric fall around my body. It did exactly what I thought, covering both my arms more or less even as my arm was still able to peek out. My costume was hidden except for a bit of my neck and my feet.

I tucked a loose corner into the armpits of my injured arm, which effectively kept it in place. Huh, this could work out well. Now as long as I kept quiet and didn't talk, no one would know that I wasn't from around here!

Probably. Hopefully. It was better than nothing.

When she came back in with two mugs, I bit my lip. I didn't want to refuse anything from her, especially after all this kindness they had shown me when they could have just hit me with a broom or something to get rid of me.

But... if they were a part of Hydra (or especially concerned about me too I guess) they could have put something in the drink to make me tired. With my guard down they could give me over to Hydra, or the police or maybe some other scientists who might want to poke and prod at my enhanced body or... I shook my head to clear it and when she passed me one of the mugs I accepted with a small nod.

"Thank you," I murmured, and even if she couldn't understand what I was saying she smiled warmly. I brought it up for a sip, waited a moment for confirmation from my Spider-sense that it wouldn't hurt me, before I had a drink of it. It tasted like tea with honey mixed in it. I hummed appreciatively.

She sat there with me, against the wall, both of us quiet and in the moment, finishing our drinks. Yeah, I never thought I would see this happening in my life but my life was nothing but weird.

* * *

I climbed out the window as the sun began to set on my second day of being free of Hydra. I hadn't built up the guts to go out during the day, as the nice lady had proved that she wasn't a threat to me or my safety so I saw no reason to go outside. The longer they didn't find me, the colder my trail went. If I waited for a week or something they would probably be going to different countries in search of me. That would give me the chance to get on a plane and head back home before they even knew it. It seemed smarter and easier for me.

But... I wasn't going to lounge around here. I didn't want to be confined to one room or this house longer than necessary and staying here any longer and accepting her kindness would be selfish.

I had waited until night fell to come out, it was easier to spot someone climbing out a window, crawling up walls and jumping between buildings in the daytime than at night. Shadows were always annoying dead giveaways.

I had allowed this day to be quiet. I had only moved from my position leaning against the wall to lie down on the couch and take a long nap. It had been good for me, it had made me more coherent and rejuvenated. It also sort of felt like the time spent asleep allowed my arm to heal faster but that was probably just wishful thinking. It was probably more because of whatever she had given me.

The couch had been surprisingly comfy anyway.

I was glad for the chance to relax before I properly started trying to go half-way across the world. It had been more than I had hoped or expected for. I had expected to just be a few steps ahead of Hydra, if any, and constantly hiding and avoiding them. The reality so far was them having zero idea if I was even alive.

So when night had settled over the place, leaving everything darker than I was used to, I waved goodbye to the nice lady and climbed out of the window. I had no idea where I was going, except to a hopefully more populated area where I could more easily hide among the crowd. The more people in a place, the fewer people to suspect I wasn't actually a citizen.

So, I had decided to just keep moving further inland, keeping to roofs and shadowy corners to stay hidden. The streets I jumped and passed by were mostly quiet, except for the occasional person walking along the street, and not one of them were aware of my presence as I moved past them. Each time the relief was enough for my knees to feel like jelly... and made my belief in my powers and ability to sneak past Hydra grow.

It felt surprisingly good to be able to get past someone's notice like that, if Hydra had done anything good for me... it was teaching me how to slink around without notice. It helped that the moon wasn't very bright so as long as I jumped above the lights keeping the streets lit, though not bright, there was barely a shadow of me.

It took a couple of hours of running, but the buildings began to get taller, the distance between buildings grew to the point that I had to get a good run up if I didn't want to use my webs and the total width of the buildings grew as well.

Eventually, I slowed down as the sun began to rise, stopping on a particularly tall building that didn't appear to have any access to the top beside from a small hatch. Just in case, I webbed the corners down. My eyes were beginning to droop so I went over to one of the corners, hiding away from the breeze there and settled in to sleep as the sun began to rise


	12. Chapter 12

When I walked the streets in the early evening that night, I found a library tucked into a street corner. It was small but went up two stories, and from my vantage point, I could see a stairwell going downstairs. I hesitated uncertainly, slowing my pace down to a walk.

I could very easily get some vital information here, I could get home quicker. Wait, 'vital information'? Hydra really did rub off on me. Ugh, ok I could find out how to get home here. That sounded more like... me.

With a quick glance around me, and a small survey of escape routes, hiding spots and vantage points, I entered the small building.

The walls were stuffed to the very top with books, the shelves barely far enough apart to fit two people walking through them. Well, unless shuffling awkwardly passed counting as two people being able to fit past each other. I would hate to be here when its jam-packed with people. There was no way to climb over the bookshelf so you would probably have to... I don't know, grab on to two opposing shelves? Whatever, didn't matter that much.

But I did feel claustrophobic, and if Hydra burst in here... Well maybe if I moved them I could create tiny prisons? But with my wrist would I be able to do it without hurting it further? It wasn't hurting all that much now but still...

I shook my head to try and clear my thoughts and glanced around. Now wasn't the time to get caught up in my thoughts. When I looked up I found some signs which probably indicated what each section was for. Probably... because I couldn't read a single one...

It was as good as a dead end for me. If I couldn't even understand what something was saying how on earth was I supposed to find any relevant information?! I mean... anything I need? Ugh, I hate you Hydra.

I glanced back outside, a frown growing on my face as I hovered by the door uncertainly. Maybe I could try and find a whatever-this-language-is to English dictionary? Surely someone would be interested enough to have one that translated whatever the language the people here spoke into English? If I could find something like that I should be set, right?

Except that would take way too long! The amount of time I could be spending here, flailing around looking like a lost, confused puppy would be ridiculous. Would it really be worth it? I should be able to find plane tickets some other way, surely. But... I had no idea where an airport was, and I wasn't positive I could even get on to a plane with only the gate number and destination... right? And I would still have no idea how things have been going on back home.

Ugh, I hated everything about this.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched this old guy at a counter giving me an oddly piercing stare. Or maybe it was a searching stare... maybe he could already tell that I wasn't actually a citizen of this country (that, from what I had figured out, was definitely most likely Wakanda. Even though Wakanda is supposed to look more like its filled with farms according to every Geography teacher, news websites and so on). I shifted uncomfortably but the guy still wouldn't look away. Please ignore me, please don't be a part of Hydra, please don't call anyone.

I bit my lip, I should try to throw off some suspicions and act normal instead of staring back at him like a deer in headlights. Didn't want him to call the police on me for loitering or something, too. Taking a quick deep breath to calm my nerves I wandered in. If I didn't find anything I could leave in twenty minutes. That was fair, right? I could probably find something in that time frame, and if I didn't I could give up my search.

I walked further in, following one of the signs to some stairs. I glanced around once before walking down them into an equally packed in space, but above all the shelves I was able to find what I had been hoping for. Computers. Ah, the internet, how I've missed it. How many a night have I spent doing nothing on it? No one would ever know.

Except, as I approached them, they looked less and less like any I had ever seen before. They didn't look old or falling apart, which might have explained why if they had been made before my time and were no longer being used by anyone back home. No, instead they looked sleek, well polished, and the screens seemed to be... literally hovering outside of the computer.

My thoughts once again wandered over what Wakanda was up to. Hiding this amount of knowledge and resources from the rest of the world... what on earth could they hope to gain from forcing the rest of the world into ignorance of just how advanced they are? It seemed so strange...

I walked up to and sat down in front of one of them, feeling nervous hesitation once again fill me up. Would I even know how to properly work this thing in the time I had allowed myself? Actually, no I didn't need to set that time limit for myself any longer. I would figure it out, I had all the time in the world, except for when they closed the library. I didn't need to stress myself out.

I took a deep breath, paused, then reached out towards the screen. My eyes flew wide in shock when it almost felt like I was... touching a physical thing. I looked around and realised that my finger was on the floating screen. When I pushed a little, though, the screen gave way and my fingers went through to the other side. I pulled my fingers out and checked them over. They were fine...

It was like a mix between a sci-fi hologram and an iPad. It was so strange...

Deciding that I should try and get something done before I got another suspicious or curious glance I focused instead on what was on the hologram/screen. Thankfully it wasn't foreign to me this time. There was Google, Safari, Facebook, Tumblr, some brightly coloured thing that I was guessing was a game, what looked like a notepad, settings and more. Ok, that just made my job a whole lot easier.

I decided against going on to any of my social media (as Hydra could easily be tracking that, waiting to see if I logged in) and instead went into google. If I could find a flight sometime tomorrow, or even in a day or two, I should be set. Even if it was in a week I should be fine. It would likely be harder to escape the less time I had between here and getting to America. The longer they had no trail of me the more area they would likely cover so the more their resources would be stretched. It's perfect! Except that what I was about to google might set off some minor alarms...

You win some, you lose some, I guess.

I typed in 'flights to America' and in no time at all found one in an airport that seemed to be just outside of the city here. It was headed to Louisville, which in all fairness wasn't as far from home as say... Mexico, but it wasn't straight into New York...

Oh well, better than nothing. I could work with it.

I sat back in the chair, hesitantly wondering if I should even look up what had happened back home while I had been gone. After a long moments pause, I sighed and gave into my curiosity. I was going to leave here in five minutes anyway. Worse case scenario they get here and I have to escape again.

I typed in 'Miles Morales' and the first thing I found was a news site about me being missing. It was dated for a month ago...

Huh...

I had been gone for a little over a month. That was about what I had thought, so that told me that they were likely throwing me off with the day-night thing or didn't want me dealing with jet lag which could potentially mess up results. Or maybe scientists were all night owls.

I sat there, wondering if I should look any deeper. I... knew that there would be people missing me. That was what the article would likely be talking about, me... and everyone who misses me pleading to get me home faster. It would only make it harder for me to... to do what I need to do, I would be more emotional and that could compromise me.

I sighed, leaning back in my chair. I could do it if-... when I got home. Until then, the knowledge that they had been worried enough to put it in the news would be enough.

I was still wondering if there was anything else I really needed to find out before leaving when I realised my spider-sense was going off at a low, warning hum. I sat up straighter, blinking. It definitely wasn't an 'everyday' hum. It really did seem to be warning me of something.

Nope, no way, nuh uh, I wasn't going to risk it, whatever it was was not going to get anywhere close to me.

I shut off the computer and hurried back up the steps. I kept my head low but eyes darting around for the potential threat as I walked out of the library. My steps were hurried, but I made sure they didn't appear urgent. If my spider-sense was anything to go off of, it was still approaching me but the further away from the library I got the less urgent it became.

I walked into an alleyway and grabbed the wall, one quick look around in the dark to make sure nothing was off, and I pushed myself up. Too impatient to simply climb up normally, I braced on the wall, tucking my wrist in safely, before hopping across to the wall opposite, and again, and again until I was landing in a small tucked roll onto the roof.

Keeping low, I hurried over to the edge of the building and peered over. I made sure that nothing but my eyes were hidden from sight. I had to know what had caused my spidey-sense to go off. Knowledge was power and all that.

As my spider-sense grew louder, but no more urgent, I spotted a person walking towards the library. I watched them with narrowed my eyes, noticing that they were holding something that glinted in the moonlight. It looked sort of... long. Probably a gun.

I clamped down on the strong instinct to run, they could be about to rob or hurt someone and I couldn't sit idly by if that were the case. There was a chance they weren't Hydra at all... but my hopes fell when they walked up to the libraries entrance with a determined, confident stride, looked around in a suspicious manner, then entered. Who would rob a library? With a gun, no less?

Finally, my spider-sense grew quieter the less of the probably-Hydra person I could see until it was no more than a quiet whisper.

I let out a breath I had been holding, turning around and letting myself lean against the low wall. See, this is why going to the library had been a horrible idea! Less than five minutes after searching up my name my spider-sense had begun to go off and I had to leave. God, I was so stupid.

I dragged a hand down my face, that was way too close. I had to get out of here, maybe I should head towards the airport and take the next flight possible. Wait, no they will think that's where I'm going right now. I would have to wait a couple more days before I could possibly throw off suspicions. There... there had been that one that was headed towards Washington...

I put my head on my knees, I could do this. I had gotten through the hardest part - escaping - already. I... I should be- no. I can do this.

* * *

Over the next few days, I thankfully did not have my spider-sense go off except for the smaller things, like someone watching me, to step carefully over a curb, to not bump into someone, that sort of thing. Tiny things that I could have figured out or avoided without any powers to help.

I was still fairly confident that that person at the library had been a part of Hydra. It was too much of a coincidence to be anything else and my spider-sense hadn't lied to me so far. But for some reason, I hadn't seen or heard anything that suggested them being in the city. It made me nervous, it felt like they were laying some sort of trap for me even though I knew they would be more likely to come in with guns a-blazing, but I couldn't be confident. I had to be on my toes if I wanted to survive but I could tell that the underlying fear I had every minute of the day wasn't... healthy. I hated feeling on edge like this.

Which lead me to where I am now, watching a homeless shelter with a line that I could see from my vantage point leading to warm, nutritious food. I wanted some, badly. I was hungry, had gone cold for all the nights I had been here and I just wanted something to make the ache go away.

Except... I didn't want to potentially raise anyone's alarm. Even if none of the people here are a part of Hydra I was still fourteen and certainly looked it. So, a kid like me, wandering into a place like this, all alone, obviously tired... I just had to be glad that I didn't have any bruises on me. If there was someone in here that was in Hydra I could easily punch them in the face and run but... I couldn't exactly do that if it was a person who meant well, with a concerned look on their face. I didn't even have the language to explain myself!

Just... was it worth it? My stomach rumbled, loudly mind you, again and I sighed. I didn't want something out of a dumpster. I hadn't lowered myself down to that standard yet and I wasn't going to start now.

I couldn't starve and I had a long flight tomorrow, not to mention trying to get on the plane in the first place would be a nightmare. A rumbling stomach could give away my position just as much as a movement of any kind.

I went to the edge of the building where an alleyway was and I carefully and quietly lowered myself to the ground with one hand. Keeping my head low but my chest puffed in an attempt to strike a balance between invisible and intimidating enough to keep people from walking up to me. I walked in and thankfully no one even looked up to check me out.

I joined the line, folding my arms but keeping my injured arm more or less flat to my chest. I tapped a finger on my left elbow and bit my lip. I tried to keep myself from flickering my eyes around to study all the people here and if they're looking at me and where all the exits are but I had already looked and god I shouldn't be this anxious. Surely teenagers were somewhat common?

When I reached the front of the line I saw the man behind the counter give me a sympathetic look and I was caught between defensiveness, glaring and keeping my head down. So instead I just accepted the offered bowl of soup and walked over to an empty table.

I resisted the urge to hungrily drink it all in one go and grabbed my spoon. I barely hesitated long enough for my spider-sense to quickly check it before I ate it. It was pumpkin soup and it settled nicely in my aching stomach. I quickly began to scoop more in. In under a minute I was almost done.

Someone cleared their throat beside me and I paused, looking over. There was a man sitting there with a concerned look in her eye. Crap. He looked like he was in his early twenties.

"Ingaba ulungile?" He said quietly.

I looked back down and continued to eat, trying my best to show I wasn't interested in whatever he had to say. Please, please go away.

From the corner of my eye, I watched him sigh. "Ndi ... ndiyaqonda. Makhe sikuncede, nceda."

I finished the soup, barely looking over at him as I stood up. He grabbed my hand, thank god it wasn't my injured one, and I flinched but otherwise didn't move. I felt frozen in place...

"Ndiyacela..." he pleaded. I looked down and then back at him, looking him directly in the eyes.

"You can't help me. Stop trying. Sorry." His eyes had gone impossibly wide, giving me the chance to tug my hand out of his grip and go put my dishes in the collection area.

As quickly as I could with my pounding heart, I rushed out of there. This had been a terrible idea... But my stomach wasn't complaining any longer.


	13. Chapter 13

Ring Ring…

I held my breath, tightening my grip on the phone and bringing it closer to my ear. I restlessly tapped my foot against the cold concrete ground, my feet unprotected except for the thin layer of spandex. It was a stark contrast to the warmth around me. I resisted the urge to try and pace, there was no space in this booth to attempt doing that.

After the scare from less than a few days ago, I knew that it was a dumb idea to be doing this. Not just dumb, it was risking the limited amount of safety I had. I was letting them catch a trail of where I am. No doubt Hydra would be monitoring any and all calls home. It was so stupid, going against everything I knew I had to do to survive and stay away from Hydra's radar. But... to hear their voices again...

It was the stupidest thing I could possibly do.

But the thing was, I was already going to be risking everything getting on the plane in just a few hours. The chances of being discovered when trying to get on the plane were impossibly high, so getting a chance to say goodbye to everyone would be... nice. I was lucky to have even found that money on the ground, even more so to find this working phone booth.

It was that excuse that allowed me to be standing here. It was better to... to die with them having an idea of where I had been.

Even if the chances of them finding a body were slim.

Ring Ring…

I bit my lip, staring down at the floor as I shut down that line of thinking. They wouldn't kill me, surely? They would just experiment further on me and then I would die.

Ok that wasn't any better.

A flutter of nervousness made my throat feel closed off and my hands shaky. I'm not going to have a breakdown.

What time was it over there, anyway? Maybe I should have checked that before doing this. It could easily be night over there, or they could be at work. I mean, the chances of them picking up some random call were about fifty-fifty and they could easily not be close to their phone. I would be lucky for them to pick up at all...

Ring Ring…

God, this was such a bad idea. And morbid. This could very well be my last chance to say goodbye to them before I was killed... or experimented on. Ignorance was bliss, them not knowing that I could be taken apart, put back together and have acid thrown on by the whims of some random scientist would be better. Anything I would tell them was undoubtedly going to freak them out even more than how they probably already are.

But they already had zero idea where I was or what had happened to us. I knew Ganke would have tried to cover for me but even he couldn't explain away over a month of me being gone. Maybe he told them I had run away? Or I had walked out of the school grounds and gone missing?

I really hoped he hadn't suggested I had run away, Mum and Dad would be crumbling under that lie... I had to make sure that they knew that wasn't the case.

Ring Ring…

If I had been him I would have said that he went to the toilet or something and never came back.

People would be scared and fearful for their own safety but it wouldn't put blame on my own shoulders. The police had probably been called in too to investigate, missing kids were not a joking matter especially at a school like mine. Maybe the school would have been locked down, or kids not allowed to leave as freely as they once were. My stuff would have been searched through, I guess I was lucky I had been carting around my only Spidey suit at the time I was taken. Or... wearing it technically.

Ring Ring…

I knew I was babbling in my brain like any self-respecting Spider hero would do. It... it was a way to deal with things I guess. Or was it a side-effect of something bigger letting me know there was something kind of wrong with me?

I mean, I did go out and get myself punched in the face nearly every night. I'm pretty sure Peter did this too if the way he taunted villains was any way to tell. It was probably the only way he kept sane. It sure was helping me keep sane. I just wanted them to pick up the phone and talk to me, but there was only one ring left. At least there was voicemail?

Ring Ring…

I took a deep shuddering breath. It was fine, I would see them soon... hopefully.

You've reached the voicemail of the Morales family. Please leave a message after the beep.

 **Beep.**

"...Uh, hey Mom, hey Dad. This is Miles." I wondered what it would be like in their shoes, knowing that I had tried to call and they were too busy or asleep to answer. That would be so hard. I could quietly admit to myself that it already was hard, for me.

"I'm okay," I continued, "I'm alive. Not safe, yet, but alive. I really miss you guys and I'm trying really hard to get home. I can't exactly go to the police either, I don't know how many resources the people after me have… But I'm doing my best."

I knew that they would be even more worried now, why couldn't I keep my big mouth shut?

At least now they knew that I hadn't run away?

Except now instead of that, they knew I had been kidnapped or something similar. And not only that, but that they were alive but couldn't seek help to get home because of their fear of what they could do... It would be a hard and painful pill to swallow. And one I now regretted wholeheartedly giving them. It was selfish of me.

It did explain why I was gone so long. I didn't run away, I wasn't murdered, just kidnapped.

"Please don't call this number back, it's just a phone booth. I'm so sorry, I'll try and be home soon. I love you guys."

Before I could continue, try and explain what had happened to me, or anything like that, the voicemail ended with a beep.

I let the phone drop from my hands and leaned my head into the wall. I breathed as quietly as I could, trying to calm myself down as my eyes stinging with unshed tears.

I sniffed and absently rubbed my nose. It was okay, it was fine, even if they didn't pick up. They know I'm alive and didn't turn my back on them and my life. It had been more than a month with no contact, without much of a sign or reason as to why I had been gone. I hoped they were okay. I knew they missed me just as much... or more than I missed them.

Please let them be okay. I couldn't even stand the thought that me escaping them and refusing to become a Hydra agent would mean that they themselves were put in a terrible situation. They didn't have my endurance, they didn't have my powers. They wouldn't be able to escape like I had.

I closed my eyes, they wouldn't do that. They couldn't use them as leverage against me because they have absolutely no clue where I was in the first place so they couldn't say "Miles give up or we take them." And Mum and Dad couldn't have me used against them because I wasn't with them.

They were fine. I was fine.

I looked at the phone in my hand. I knew there was one other person I could call, who picked up the phone even if it was two am, cause I was Spider-man and being Spider-man meant I could very well be hurt. He had supported me when I got my powers and freaked out. He had helped me become the new Spider-man. He was a better friend than I deserved. Ganke. I knew he would have covered for me the best he could. I knew that he would do his best to pick up the phone even if he was in the middle of class.

I put some more coins in the machine and began to dial the number. If this didn't work and he didn't pick up, at least he would know I was alive through my parents? I only had five more… whatever the currency was here.

Huh, I guess my phone call would be used in my "case" for the police. Ha, it wouldn't help them much at all. And Hydra was going to use this against me too but I would be on a plane in like two hours anyway so whatever.

Swallowing my nervousness, I inserted a few more coins and pressed the call button and put the phone to my ear.

Ring Ring…

I wiped a hand down my face, silently begging with all my might for this to work. I needed to hear from them. I desperately need to know that they are all okay. I need to hear someones voice. God, please.

They might have been able to accept that I was gone on their end, but I hadn't resigned myself to never seeing them again. It was the one hope that kept me determined enough to run like this. I mean, not wanting to be cut open was a good enough fear to keep me going but my determination didn't just come from my fear.

It came from wanting to see home again, from wanting to live a normal life, from wanting to swing around New York once again giving something back to the community, from wanting to spend time with Ganke and watching mindless shows.

I wanted to live, not just survive. If I wanted to do that I had to get home, and I didn't want- no I wasn't going to let Hydra get in the way.

Ring Ring…

"Hello?" A mumbled, tired voice said. I felt a warm tear slide down my cheek as I smiled, relief making my body feel like jelly. I absently wiped it away.

"Ganke? It's Miles. Hi." I said, voice weak and quiet. He was alive! He was okay! And I had someone to talk to, someone to ask about the state of things back home. Or, at least until my money ran out and the time was up. Then I would be alone again trying to get home.

I shouldn't focus on that right now.

I heard him shuffle around. He was probably sitting up, maybe in shock or surprise. Or he was getting comfortable. He seemed shocked into silence, which seemed rare and almost made me grin even wider.

" **Miles**? Where the hell have you **been**!? Do you have any idea what we've been going through? I thought you were dead!"

I winced, "Yeah, well, it's me. Not dead. Are you okay? I mean, how has everyone been?"

"Dude. I should be asking you that, not the other way round." He sighed and my grin faltered. "School has been weird ever since you've been gone. I mean, not just for me. Kids have been freaking out because you disappeared so suddenly. I didn't tell them anything that could give away you know what, so they think you might have run away or something. I just said that I had been sleeping...

"Your parents have been trying to spread the word about your disappearance all over the news. New York has been theorising about where your arachnid side has gone. I even heard about a small group going out to look for you." I had a group of fans that worried about me? What the heck... That was really cool. "Anyway, where are you? What happened and are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Ah... well see, Hydra kidnapped me." I told him, voice dropping off into a whisper.

There was a silence. "Hydra? That's the people Captain America fought, right?"

I nodded, before remembering where I was. "Uh yeah. They wanted to make super soldiers out of me I think."

"Super soldiers? What the heck? Did they want to clone you or something?" He asked, obviously confused.

"If they are then I don't know about it. They more or less just tested out all my powers, but most of the time they treated me at least half decent. Um, they were trying to make me into a soldier though. They offered me a position as one."

He chuckled, though it sounded strained. "You? A soldier? I can't imagine it, sorry dude."

"Honestly neither can I. I accepted at the time so they wouldn't kill me or something and escaped. Also, they said that I could see Mum and Dad again if I joined them... How are they doing, besides the obvious?"

"Sorry I haven't talked to them much. But they're unharmed if that's what you wanna know."

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "That's good." Then I remembered something and grinned. "Hey wanna know how I got out?"

"Sure?"

"I climbed through the vents, found the vehicle bay, and rode out of their on a motorbike. You honestly should have seen their faces." My grin had returned full force.

"Holy moly dude I wish I had been there." He breathed, voice light for the first time in our conversation.

"It was amazing. I mean, except for the part where they followed on other vehicles and I had to escape into a river and broke my wrist probably but I'm not entirely sure cause no x-rays but y'know still. It was amazing."

There was a long pause.

"Miles. Seriously?"

"What?"

"How did you not bring up that you freaking broke your wrist? Doesn't it hurt?"

"Um, it happened like a week ago. It's almost completely healed, I think. The swellings down and it doesn't hurt that much unless I strain it I swear." I reassured.

He sighed, "Okay whatever. Where even are you?"

"Ya gotta give it a guess," I said, smiling a little again.

"Hmm… well, it's not in the US then if you're saying that, right?" I confirmed with a short 'mhm'. "Um. Asia?"

"Nope."

"Australia?"

"Nup."

"What about… the Middle East?"

"Not there."

"Africa?"

"Yep."

There was a pause.

"Which country?" he asked.

"Wakanda I'm pretty sure. Wanna know something really weird? Turns out it isn't third world at all. It's actually super advanced."

"The heck? Aren't they supposed to be filled with farms or whatever?"

"That's what I thought too. I was honestly surprised to find a phone booth here, its that advanced."

"That's really weird. How are you getting home then?"

I paused, looking down at my wrist a moment.

If I told him, he might be reassured but Hydra would be on to me. I wanted to tell him... but I couldn't risk my safety. I had already broken my wrist and that had been super painful, but I knew that if Hydra got to me they would make that seem like a scratch.

"Sorry, Ganke... but there's a huge chance they're listening in on this conversation. Just calling you was a dumb idea. If I tell you then they-"

"I get it," he interrupted, "just stay safe. I still can't believe that they were the ones to get you."

I chuckled weakly, "me too. You would have thought that since I'm such a small time hero they wouldn't even glance in my direction. You know what they told me? They said that because I was so small and untrained they thought I was an easy target for their 'project.'"

"... I guess that makes sense."

"Hey! You calling me short?"

"Totally not, I'm calling you 5"8 above ground level-"

 **Beep, beep.**

I sighed, sagging again, "Ganke, I'm going to have to go now. My calls about to end and I barely have any money. Sorry. Also, if I never get home…"

I could say so much, "I miss you", "Don't come after me", "I'll be okay", "You're my best friend", "tell Mum and Dad I love them", "I couldn't have had a better friend." But none of that would help. He knew all of that, we both knew that I was not in a good place right now and I could very well die. So instead, I paused for dramatic effect and said, "please delete my internet history."

I beamed as I heard him laugh, even if it sounded weak and sad. "See you later Miles. Try and get home without any more broken holes. You know I'm crap at first aid, anyway."

"I'll try. Look after yourself," I said, voice going soft. I ended the call before I could hesitate any long and put the phone back on its stand.

I could feel a warm glow in my chest, feeling lighter than I had been able to for so long. I had missed him, going from talking every day all day to nothing had been hard. Having anything at all, even for as brief as it was, was like a breath of fresh air.

But another part of me ached with a numbing sadness. That could very well be the last conversation I ever have with him - with anyone back home. I knew it had been heavy on both of our minds as we talked, even if neither of us said it aloud. Nothing we told ourselves or each other would have reassured or changed the sad reality of it all.


	14. Chapter 14

As soon as the call ended, and I was as calm as I could be, I began operation "get on the plane without being discovered so I don't die some horrible death at the hands of Hydra and get to Washington." Unfortunately, that had meant leaving behind my warm clothing, cause they could easily give me away. Spandex it was.

I hadn't just been surviving while I was here, I had prepared myself as best as I possibly could and looked at the airport through Google maps. It helped me get an idea of the scope of things, and from what I had seen the airport was relatively small and only had one runway. That hopefully meant smaller security, so fewer cameras and fewer people to notice me.

But there was still the lingering doubt that that was accurate. If they were able to completely cover up their tracks on google maps that they weren't, in fact, some poor third world country I was pretty positive they could cover up some massive airport and make it look realistic.

On top of that, I felt nervous that attempting all of this meant that I had to risk everything. I mean, if someone did see me or if something went wrong it could potentially be a long time before I could get to another airport and then catch a plane there. Not to mention the fact that Hydra would undoubtedly be monitoring any airports in and around New York. I still didn't know how long I had been on that river, and I don't think I was ever going to find out, but Hydra might not be watching this airport as closely as some of the others. I wasn't flying directly into New York and it might be further away than where they expected me to be. I just had to cross my fingers and be as cautious as possible.

I also didn't like that this would be breaking a lot of laws. But, I had no money, no one to turn to and I had to get out of the country as fast as possible before Hydra found my trail. The best way to get out of the country without dragging anyone else into it or having to hide for a very long amount of time was going to be by plane.

I would go by boat if it came down to that, but it would be harder to stay alive and steal things there while also keeping myself hidden.

So here I was, crouched in the shadows cast by the night, close by to the front entrance of the airport, trying to figure out how to get on to my plane without security cameras or people spotting me and blowing my cover.

I mean, the answer seemed obvious. I had to camouflage and run to my gate. Except, as the tests at Hydra had proven, if I camouflaged for too long I could pass out. Not to mention my wrist. I tentatively flexed it, finding the muscles still a little bit sore. It was better, yet I was still intimately aware that if I stressed it out too much it could brea- need healing.

I looked back up to watch the small trickle of people wandering into the airport. I potentially could wander around the back and enter into my gate that way. But, there could be a lot more security there than inside. However, if I accidentally passed out the night could cloak me until I came back around. Inside, it would be very bright with nearly nowhere to hide. Going inside would mean I should be able to find my flight quicker than around the back. There should be plenty of signs telling me which was which and where a plane was headed.

And then there was potential people hanging around or were part of the staff at the airport who were Hydra agents. If they spotted me they would go after me. I didn't doubt my ability to escape from one person, but who knew just how many would be called in for backup to try and take me down before I could get out of the airport? I was Spider-man, though. Fighting bad guys, no matter how many, was in my job description. I hadn't really had to fight a whole army of something yet so I didn't know how well I would fare in such an unfair fight though...

There was also the fact that this was Wakanda. I doubted they would be able to come into one of, if not the most, advanced country in the world guns-a-blazing. If they did, Wakanda's people would cause an uproar, and it would be a beacon to the Ultimates and shield to tell them whereabouts I was.

They would be smarter than that, so it would make it harder for them to take me down. But they were more than willing to play dirty, but so was I. A cornered animal was more ferocious than a free one.

If I was them, I would try and pull me aside under the disguise of being airport security then knock me out. They would probably drug me so I couldn't fight them back. And now that they had my blood, they probably knew a faster, more efficient way to knock me out. If I was lucky I might have become more resistant to anything they would give me. Maybe that would make the difference between me dying or getting away.

I could wander in without my mask on. If someone did see me, that way it wouldn't raise too many alarm bells as to what I was doing and I wouldn't have to worry about my camouflage failing on me. Yet, I didn't have anything to cover my face beside it and there were security cameras. They still might come in guns out so I couldn't make any assumptions.

I mean, I had assumed that I wouldn't garner interest in my... "skill set." Look where I was now, half-way across the bloody world wondering how I could illegally sneak on to a plane.

Maybe I could hide in someone's bag? If I went to the check in for my flight and quietly slipped into someone's bag I would be taken more or less straight to the plane without much hassle. It would cut down my time spent camouflaged too. It would work... except that I would be underneath the plane where it wasn't pressurised. I could suffocate or freeze to death at the sub-zero temperatures. The flight was eighteen hours long, I wouldn't survive in just this for that long. I was super-human, but not that super-human. Even if I did, the bag could be transferred straight to another plan and I could end up even further from home.

Well, what did that leave me with? Sneaking around the back or booking it inside. I mean, I could pause for breaks in bathrooms and such. There should be some all over the place. So if I told myself, "get to this place in the airport, find a bathroom and get my energy back before getting to this place," I should be able to get to my plane in time.

Now that left me with the problem of where on the plane I could hide. It should be a big plane if it was heading directly to Washington. Maybe if I snuck past the flight attendants scanning people on and find a seat on the plane before most people were on I could sit in a comfy seat the whole flight? Except, I could accidentally take someone else's seat and if a scene erupted...

So I couldn't sit in a seat, and I couldn't sit down with the bags down below. But... if I remembered correctly there were still over-head lockers. If I was careful and found one that only had one bag in it I should have enough room for myself the whole flight. I wouldn't die because of the cold or lack of oxygen either!

It was perfect. Run inside, camouflaged, of course, take breaks in bathrooms, find my gate and then sneak on to the jet bridge and plane before anyone got on and hide in the overhead lockers for the duration of the flight. I should be able to do the same sort of thing getting out of the airport too.

I took a few deep breaths, I could do this. Worst case scenario I'm found and I have to run back out of the airport and re-plan.

I could do this.

I camouflaged and immediately began running to the front entrance. I stopped to wait for the automatic doors to open before I stopped to take in my surroundings. There were a few desks with different airlines to check-in at, where there were some lines formed. Looked like there were only going to be two or planes leaving soon. That was great for me. To the left of the check-in was the start of security where you had to line up and get you and all of your belongings scanned. Dotted around the place in small clumps were many stores such as McDonald's or random trinket shops.

I was pretty sure I had to get through security to get to the gates, damn. I ran in that direction and jumped on to the ceiling just as the numbing pain from camouflaging began.

I probably only had a couple of minutes left before I began to get dizzy but I didn't want to risk it. I would rest up a bit after I got through security. With an extra burst of speed, I began to rapidly climb across the ceiling, passing above the heads of security people and the scanners. As soon as I had gotten past them I let go of the roof and ran, looking left and right for a bathroom.

I was starting to feel light headed when I finally spotted a bathroom. Without worrying for the moment about if it would look strange I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Swallowing the whine threatening to bubble up I hurriedly locked myself in a stall closest to the exit. I noticed that there wasn't anyone else currently in the bathroom which really worked to my advantage right now.

When I was sitting on the toilet cover, I finally let the camouflage melt away. The relief was immediate and almost painful. I breathed, waiting until the pain had gone away and I was feeling back to almost one-hundred percent before I got back up again and went to open the door and run again. Just as I was turning the lock someone walked into the bathroom. I stood as still as a statue as I heard them slowly walk towards a stall a few down from me and lock the door behind them.

I blinked a few times, slowing down my breathing until I was calm again and my thoughts weren't panicking about how they had to be a Hydra agent, before opening it and opening the door to the bathroom.

Someone looked up and stared at where I was now standing. They seemed to be looking directly at me, and they were frowning.

Oh my god, they had spotted me, they were going to alert Hydra. I knew that that other guy was a Hydra agent! There was no way he wasn't and this guy was going to grab me in just a second and hand me straight into Hydra's arms-

The guy shrugged and pulled out his phone as the door closed behind me.

O-oh. They were probably just waiting for their friend inside. Wow, I needed to work on not freaking out.

I began to run again and realised I was now at the gates. I would have to look for my gate and check every single one to find the one headed to Washington. This was going to suck. I would have to be relatively quick too because by my guess there were only twenty minutes until people were scheduled to board. I picked up my pace and when there were a lot of people waiting at a gate I would slow down and check if they were going to Washington, instead of checking every single one. I had to take a break one more time before I finally found my gate. By this time, it was only ten minutes until they would board.

Everything was going to plan so far, no one had noticed me and I was where I needed to be. I walked up to the doors that led onto the jet-bridge and tried to open it. Nope, it was locked. Crap.

I should have a few minutes before I would need to un-camouflage again, so I settled for leaning against the desk while I waited. This would be good. I mean, I was hidden from sight and as long as I kept in tune with my sense I would be able to camouflage before anyone discovered me here. Which meant I could take short breaks. I rubbed my hand over the top of my mask, as soon as it was opened by someone I could sneak past them and get onto the plane. Easy.

I closed my eyes, tuning into my enhanced senses to check where people that could potentiality discover where I was and to check what they were doing. No one was close enough to the desk to alarm me, and my spidey-sense was only a faint hum in the background to let me know that there was a good chance someone might see me. I already knew that, so until it increased I was going to try not to stress over it. I was as safe as I could be right now.

I sat up straighter as I heard footsteps growing closer, the hum of my spidey-sense getting stronger. Still in camouflage, because I hadn't relaxed it while I was thinking, I looked around the desk to see a small child, maybe five or six, come running to the door.

They peered into the jet-bridge curiously, and I relaxed. It was okay, they were just looking around. However, the pain, the numbness and the dizziness were growing rapidly worse while I waited for them to move along. I bit my lip and closed my eyes, straining to keep it going even as my sense of up and down becoming tilted.

I had to keep it going, they might alert everyone here to my whereabouts! I knew I probably would if I were their age and saw a missing hero, and If they did, I would be back to square one.

Just one small burst of visibility, that's all I needed. Just to get rid of some of the pain washing over me.

I opened my eyes and turned visible, only to see the child had turned around and was staring at me. Oh no, I was done for. Just one small mistake and now I was discovered and Hydra would get me and I would be killed. I would never see my family again. I had been so close but because I had been so stupid- I should have chosen to go by-

The boy smiled, "Spider-man," he murmured, looking at me with wide, almost adoring, eyes. They took a step closer.

I pressed a finger to my lips, silently shushing him. That's all I would, or could, do. I could only cross my fingers and hope they wouldn't tell their parents until I was far enough away for it not to be too big of a concern for me. The kid nodded, hopefully in understanding, and went back to his parents. I could see their huge grin as they looked back at where I was sitting. Okay, I was safe for now it seemed. God that had been so careless of me, I should have uncamouflaged the moment I knew I was safe.

I camouflaged again, just in time as I spotted a staff member come up from behind me, heading straight past me in a confident walk and over to the door. I got up hurriedly and huddled in fairly close behind her as she pressed a card to the lock on the door. She swung the door open and I had just enough time to duck inside before it closed and locked again.

I followed her like a shadow, my heart hammering. I was so close, I was nearly on the plane and closer to home. The door to the plane was already open so she just walked straight in. By how clean everything looked I guessed that they were nearly ready to bring in the passengers onboard. I stepped inside and saw where all the passenger seats were.

I walked between the small gap between seats, trying to decide where the best place to put myself would be. Should I stay in business class? Nope, I could get noticed easier and more people would pass underneath me. I would be closer to the entrance if it came down to that and there would be fewer people under me for the duration of the trip, too. What about at the very back? There would be less people passing underneath me during the time we were boarding, and even if I was discovered down there it wouldn't change my chances of getting out of there all too much I didn't think. Yeah, I think that would be the best place to go. I would be getting off last when we finally landed anyway (because I would have to wait for the flap to open so it wouldn't look suspicious and when that happened it would be hard to duck in between people), it only made sense to go there.

I quickly walked down, aware that I only had a few minutes to hide. Okay, keep cool, keep up the camouflage for a few more minutes and then I would be all good. I could close the flap behind me and then switch it back on when someone opened it up again. When I was all the way at the back of the plane I reached up on my tippy-toes to open the flap. I then climbed onto a seat and was able to pull myself up and into the small space.

I had to tuck myself into a ball just to fit myself into half of the space. Oh man, I really hoped that there wouldn't be two bags placed up here. If someone did, I guess I could climb on to the ceiling and find another one to hide in. I just had to cross my fingers and hope that my luck wasn't crap for once.

I could do this. In the end, surely people would be sympathetic?

Even if they weren't... I was Spider-man.


	15. Chapter 15

I breathed steadily, trying to calm my nerves as dozens, no, more than a hundred people came on the plane. I could hear them, their footsteps brushing against the carpeted ground. I could hear people settling into their seats and clicking their seat belts on. I heard people talking, laughing, things normal people did.

Yet my brain wouldn't stop freaking out. Any of them could discover me here. If I was discovered I would have to flee past hundreds of people to escape because I had thought it would be a smart idea to hide right at the back of the plane. I could trip, I could be held down, and I could be beaten by anyone in here. If it came down to that…

My breath sped up in panic, so I breathed deeply, in through my nose and out through my mouth several times to calm down. I could do this. I could do this. Right…?

I almost felt ridiculous, hiding in a scrunched up ball with my full spandex and the clothes I had stolen on, hugging myself to try and keep calm. The Bugle would have a field day with this if they were anything like they had been with Peter. I could already imagine the headlines;

"Spider menace caught illegally hiding in a plane! Plotting terror?"

There was very little light here, but there was just enough to illuminate the space so my enhanced vision could pick out the details. I studied the empty space, distracting myself. The worst thing I could do was panic, well… panic more than I was doing. So I waited as calmly and as quietly as I could under the circumstances.

I heard footsteps stop underneath me and I immediately camouflaged before my spider-sense even warned me, I was so nervous, so scared of what could happen if they saw me or if they put their bag on top of me. So many things could go wrong in just a few crucial seconds.

Light flooded around me. I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart going off so loudly I swore that they should have been able to hear it. A bag was placed next to me and then I heard the click as the flap closed again.

I released a slow breath that I hadn't known I had been holding.

I relaxed a little, my camouflage melting away in a matter of seconds. How long was this flight again? Who cared? As long as I got home, right? I would just stay here, relax and camouflage if someone looked in here.

I could handle this.

* * *

Never underestimate the power of an eighteen-hour flight. **Ever**.

I had stayed here, lying down with my head cushioned by the other bag in here, for hours.

I had wondered off and on what Hydra would do to me, but eventually, I had nothing to add to even that. And my brain loved to think of new and creative ways to freak me out so it was a long, **long** list. For some reason, my brain had decided they could even, maybe, have the ability to teleport me to a different universe entirely. How stupid was that? But apparently if they had the technology they would send me off to, I don't know, a zombie universe to see how long I could survive. Or they might make me kidnap another Miles.

I wasn't kidding about my brain going off to weird and... wonderful places.

So instead I forced myself to think about... how much homework I was going to have.

(I seriously hoped I wouldn't have to stay back a grade. That would just be insulting to my ego. I couldn't do all that work while I was still patrolling as Spider-man. I would think that they would give me some time to catch up. You know, traumatic kidnapping and all. So maybe I wouldn't drown under the work? Or maybe I would have to work non-stop over the holidays and wasn't that a fate worse than anything?)

Thought about what Peter Parker would have done in my place.

(Probably something more badass. He probably would have blown up the place, walking away without looking back like all the action movie characters did. {Seriously, why did they do that? I was Spider-man and had experienced many explosions. It was less 'that was awesome!' and more 'Holy crap, ow! I've just crashed into a window or something and everything hurts! Not to mention the sound!'}

SHIELD would come down with a Helicopter and then he would go off into the sunset, with a big smug smile on his face cause he didn't even have to stay there a night.

And that was only if Hydra somehow managed to get him. He probably would have given them the finger while he swung away after webbing them all up).

Wondered what the crime rate was like without me.

(That wouldn't have changed. It had spiked after Peter's death, but I wasn't as liked or noticed as him, nor was I as good at taking down criminals as Peter so it took me longer to do the same amount he would do. Even criminals barely gave me a passing glance. 'Till I kicked them in the face, of course.)

What I would say to my parents. Would I tell them I'm Spider-man?

('Oh hey Mum, hey Dad. So, Dad, you know how you really hate mutants and superheroes and violence? And especially Spider-man after Uncle Aaron died in a fight with him? Well, ta-da! I'm the thing you hate most in the world!

Yeah, Mum, I've been risking my life and have almost died a few times. No, there's no way to be safe about this. Yes, I'm okay. No, I have to continue being Spider-man, as much as you love me.

Why am I doing all of this? Cause great power, great responsibility and what not. It sucks I know.')

What the Internet was saying about me.

(I bet a lot of theorists had already guessed who I really was. I mean, Spider-man gets in a fight with Hydra and goes missing. That same night a young kid who lived in the nearby area goes missing. They're the perfect everything to match the new Spider-man from height to weight to everything. They've both been missing for the same amount of time, too. I was so screwed. Except if SHIELD decided to help me)

And that was only a small sample of all the weird and creative thoughts I had had. Not in that way either. Eventually, I fell asleep, curled into a small ball. I trusted my spider-sense to wake me up if someone looked in here. So I slept, and slept, and slept. Even if that sleep was still hovering in a bit of wakefulness. Not relaxing does that.

I wasn't very comfortable, but I could care less. I was warm… kind of. The inside of aeroplane was air conditioned, but since I was wearing my full-body spandex that was sort of insulated and the fact that this small space wasn't getting as much cool air as out there, I was fine.

I had ages to wait until the plane touched down in Washington, might as well fill in the time with some much-needed sleep. Hopefully, I wouldn't have any nightmares.

* * *

I woke up to the smell of warm food. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since the morning before. Ugh, that was going to be a problem. I didn't want my stomach to give me away and not to mention if Hydra caught up to me I had to make sure I was at the best state I could be to get away.

Then I remembered my wrist. Huh, it wasn't sore even after I sort of slept on it. Hey! It's healed! Well, that was handy. Hah, handy.

Guess that sleep must have done some good for my body. Even though I felt cramped and a bit uncomfortable my mind felt less foggy than usual. Sort of surprising in all honesty but I would take what I could get. If that was being more aware than that could only be good.

Unless Hydra did capture me and decided to beat me up.

Wait, so if I was feeling pretty rested than I probably got an actual normal amount of sleep. So maybe eight or nine hours? I had definitely been awake for several hours before I nodded off, thinking and trying to map out the layout of the plan and who was where so I had a better chance of escaping or hiding. Or both. So I had knocked off a decent amount of travel time. Nice!

It was a fairly big plane, which I was confused as to whether I should be surprised or not. Wakanda wasn't travelled to all that often but obviously people in Wakanda might want to get around the world. So they made big, efficient planes just for their people or something? Wakanda still confused me, why be so secretive? There would be no harm in expanding their knowledge around the world and bringing other countries up to their level.

Unless they had a superiority complex? Ugh, I couldn't put that many people in a bad light. But it still made no sense!

Anyway. No point in guessing. I wasn't going to get any answers any time soon.

So if I had slept for about eight or nine hours and I had spent around three to four hours (I knew that because some person had watched Shrek one and two with their volume so loud that I could hear it playing) doing nothing before that I had... damnit, five hours to go.

Oh no. I had **five** hours. Of **nothing**. Left to go.

When I took a deep breath to try and settle in for even more sleeping, the whole reason why I was awake in the first place become that much more noticeable. I could smell the food the person below me was eating. It smelt like lamb covered in gravy with various vegetables on the side. Oh, that was cruel. That was really unfair. I seriously should have thought about somehow getting some food to bring with me.

My stomach growled again, louder this time. I grumbled quietly to myself, cursing my stupid metabolism and stupid human needs out. And then cursed my brain for waking me up while everyone had just gotten their meals. It would have been fine if everyone had already eaten so then I couldn't be tempted, but that wasn't the reality and I was hungry.

Well, the only cure for hunger was food. Or water, if you had enough. That wasn't exactly good for you, though, so food it was.

How was I supposed to get any food? I didn't have any on me, nor did I have anything else that might sate it just a little bit.

But... what if I opened this up a little bit, just enough to shoot a small strand of web out and snag some food from someone when they weren't looking? It would be risky, and I don't think I would be able to get all that much food, but anything would be enough to keep the monster that was my stomach at bay.

So, I moved my body so my back could stick to the roof of the plane and my knees could grip the bottom of the overhead locker. I carefully reached forward and released the flap keeping it locked in place, keeping it firmly in place by the power of sticking.

Then, with very slow movements I opened it up enough so I could peak around hopefully without alerting anyone. Luckily for me, all the lights in the plane had been turned off so people could sleep. I opened it a little wider and spotted the guy sitting in the row in front of me fast asleep with the remains of his food still in front of him. On his plate there was a long bit of what I assumed was chicken schnitzel. There was even a piece of it left out.

I extended my hand, finger on the trigger. I had to aim really well so I wouldn't wake him or alert anyone to my presence. I trusted that the roar of the engine would keep anyone from hearing the familiar 'thwip' of my web shooters.

Taking a few deep, calming breaths, I aimed. Alright, let's go.

I thwipped the web and it snagged the chicken. Holy crap, I actually got that! Very carefully, I lifted my web up a little bit getting it above the rest of the food before quickly winding it up to me. Just as I was about to give it one last tug and bring it all the way to me my spider-sense buzzed a warning that someone was looking at me.

I froze in place and quickly looked around. In a few seconds, I had traced the warning to the person behind it. Or more accurately, the baby.

Phew, I thought I was going to be in trouble.

I grabbed the piece of chicken and with one swift movement shut the overhead luggage again.

I tugged the webbing off of it, crossing my fingers that the webbing was at least somewhat edible if ingested, and ate it all in two quick bites. I cringed, oh that was definitely not the best chicken I had had. Aeroplane food really was terrible. I forced myself to swallow it. Beggars couldn't be choosers.

I shuddered, swallowing several times to try and get rid of the taste still lingering on my taste buds. It didn't work. I had to remind myself that it was better than nothing, and it would keep away my hunger for a while. My taste buds still protested despite my best attempts.

I laid back down, trying to come up with anything to think about once again.

It was a sad moment in your life that you had become so bored that you had to think about what to think about. I was wide awake now, so I couldn't just sleep off the next five hours. So I had to do something with my time. Anything at all. Anything. I didn't want to get caught up in my thoughts again.

I looked over at the other bag in here. I pursed my lips. No, that's wrong. I shouldn't do that. First of all, it was rude. Second of all, what happened if they opened the flap and I was rummaging through their stuff? That would be very awkward.

Third, had I really stooped so low as to rummage through a stranger's bag to stave off boredom?

Apparently, I had.

A moment later I had swung myself around to better position myself over the bag and quietly unzipped it. I paused, turning my attention to what the owner of said bag was doing. They were watching some show. Good.

Before I could hesitate and linger too long I opened the bag. I looked down at the stuff inside. There were a lot of clothes, which was to be expected. I carefully moved some aside, trying hard not to crumple or mess them up. I saw the tip of something peeking out from the bottom. Curiously, I grabbed it out and realized it was a notebook.

I looked at the front, smiling. It was covered with various stickers. When I flicked it open I found it filled with sketches. I flicked through quickly and found that there was barely any colour. I turned back to the front. It ranged from landscapes (which were beautifully detailed, may I add. I was glad they hadn't added any colour, it didn't even need it if I was being honest), to random doodles.

I smiled, flicking through the pages slowly. I had found my distraction after all.

It was nearly full, which left me with plenty to look at. I became immersed, studying each line. I wondered how long each one took, how hard they pressed into the page, where they were when they did it, and what they had been thinking about when doing it. Nothing better to wonder about, and it was sort of interesting to figure out what they did in what order.

I had no idea how long I flipped through the drawings until I landed on a blank page. I blinked a few times, looking up and around before I smiled.

I fished through the bag until I found what I was looking for, a pencil and rubber. I closed the bag back up and rolled over onto my belly.

I thought for a few moments before I began to draw.

* * *

I frowned when I opened up my bag. A lot of my clothes were crumpled or in the wrong place from how I had left it, and on top of that was my notebook.

I quickly went through the bag, listing off everything I had brought with me. Had it been a robber? I sincerely hoped not.

When I found that everything was where it was supposed to be, I turned back to the notebook. Had… Did someone look through there instead?

I flipped through the pages until I came on to the last one. I hadn't drawn that…

I had to post this to my Instagram…


	16. Chapter 16

We will be descending in five minutes. Please lock your trays up, open your windows and buckle your seatbelts. It is currently ten pm in Washington. It's partly cloudy and the temperature is currently hovering at twenty-three degrees.

I stirred from the almost trance-like state drawing had left me in. Was it already over? I mean, yeah it had been an incredibly boring plane ride but now it seemed strange that I was closer than ever to home. It felt… odd to think about.

Not in a bad way! Just in a really surreal way. This plane trip had made my way home a lot easier and made Hydras job more of a wild goose chase now. They would probably still be searching for me over in Wakanda and that area.

I blinked a few times before looking down at the scribble I had been working on. Pursing my lips, I hastily finished the last few lines before closing the book.

Hopefully, whoever owned this wouldn't mind that I had looked through their luggage. It was only one page after all… right?

I quietly opened the bag, taking my time on unzipping the bag so I knew I was keeping quiet, before I put the notebook back under the clothes they had been under. As an afterthought, I straightened out the scrunched clothes to at least try and make it look okay. I closed the bag once I was done with it. Good enough. Worst case scenario the owner realises that someone had been through his stuff and that person was me.

Wouldn't make it any easier to track me down before I got to SHIELD or someone though. I would be out of Washington as quickly as I could. But maybe not by plane, it had been stressful enough just doing this. I would figure out the when and how later, right now I just had to get out of the airport. That's all I needed to currently worry about, besides Hydra but that was a given.

So, now for landing. This was going to be a pain if take off was anything to go by.

I swear the plane had been put at that precise uphill angle just to make sure the bag squashed me. I curled into a ball and prepared myself to be jolted around. If I stuck myself to the plastic I shouldn't be jolted around but my stomach would definitely drop and I might feel a bit light headed or something. I didn't know, this my first time on a plane, I was only guessing. I was hoping I was wrong in all honesty. This was going to be oh so much fun.

I turned my attention to the people below me while I waited. I could hear a lot of jostling around, though I couldn't hear many people moving around on the carpeted floor. Most people were seated then, and seatbelts were been clicked back into place. I listened as people put their trays up and opened their windows. I listened to the familiar 'clicks' of people turning off their technology. I heard bags being opened, stuff hastily shoved inside and then zipped shut again. There were the quiet murmurs of people talking. I could hear many people pointing out landmarks like the white house to their friends and family.

It helped reassure me, in some weird way. It was quieter than most streets I swung through while on patrol. The atmosphere was quiet… peaceful in a way I hadn't been able to feel in more than a month. It was just… normal people doing normal things.

I relaxed, un-tensing my muscles. Pleasure-pain swept over me and I stayed perfectly still while I waited for it to pass. Had I really been that tense? Enough for me to actually feel something from the simple action? I must have been tensed for a while if it hurt, maybe even weeks, 'cause normally my Spidey powers were right on top of that sort of thing. Maybe they had been that way since I first fought Hydra all the way back in New York, or maybe from when I had been fighting that weird monster. Huh. Guess fighting, being pretty scared of your fate and running for your life did that to you.

Or it was just because I had been in a scrunched up ball for eighteen hours. Yeah, it was probably that.

The plane went into its first dip and I watched the other bag move a little bit. Not enough to worry my spider-sense that I was going to get crushed, but enough for me to notice. I shifted my head so I could get a better look at it. It was perfectly still now, of course.

At the next dip, the bag moved closer. I narrowed my eyes and shifted it further away with a foot. No thanks, I had had enough of bruises. They were so annoying! I mean, I'm going around doing some everyday task and as soon as something puts mild pressure on it, it cries out like I was miraculously unaware of my nightly activities. Not to mention when I'm fighting, like I have things to worry about that aren't you bruise, chill.

Besides, I had earned more than my fair share at this point. If I wanted a break from them then I deserved one.

The plane dropped yet again, and the bag shifted towards me. I squinted, trying to give it an intimidating look.

'Don't do it,' I mouthed, even though it was an inanimate object and I had a mask covering my face, 'I don't want you to be my first proper supervillain.'

Yet, the moment I stopped staring at it, the plane dropped yet again and it went straight for me. I put a leg out before it could get any closer.

'What's your plan, Mr Bag? To squish me to death?' I mocked.

Why was this my life? I was officially insane. This is why isolation isn't good for the human brain.

There was one more drop before the tension in the air thickened and the roar of the engines dampened. I sat up on my elbows in confusion, trying to work out what it was. Were we headed towards the ground too fast? Were we going to crash? I was suddenly jolted in place and sent straight up as we hit the ground. I hit my head on the roof, hard. I cursed as quietly as I could, rubbing my head. I could already feel a headache coming on. Oh C'mon!

Spider-sense you had one job!

The air roared in protest against the flaps on the plane's wings. These, of course, were helping the plane slow down. It was loud, may I add. Way too loud. Why did no one think that, I don't know, people with super hearing would probably complain about how noisy it was?! The world had super-powered people popping up everywhere nowadays. It would be a necessity at one point or another, surely. Seriously, did no one design anything to muffle it?

The plane had slowed down to an itty-bitty pace, probably as fast as a car, but compared with before when we were up in the air and landing it felt like we were going at a snail's pace.

Man, I was glad we had landed, eighteen hours was way too long of a flight. Whoever had thought it was a good idea deserved a slipper to the face.

But, as I reminded myself, I was in the USA, eagles and all! **And** I was a few states away now, instead of half-way across the world, from home. That was so much better. I seriously couldn't believe it. I was almost scared to acknowledge it in case I woke back up in the Hydra base and find out this way all a weird dream.

I allowed myself to smile, to let myself hope that I had a very real possibility of getting home. As long as I didn't wake up I should let myself feel good... then I thought about the mad dash I was going to have to make across the airport, in camouflage, in a crowded airport. This was going to be fun.

Finally, the plane's engines slowed down and we stopped completely. The plane went quiet. Or, quieter, because there was still humans onboard doing stuff, but the roar of the engines was gone. There was a ping as the seatbelt sign came off and many people immediately unclasped themselves and there was the loud sound of overhead lockers being opened everywhere. Not to mention how everyone was now shuffling about or talking to the people around them. I had nothing to do, so I tuned into one such conversation happening a few seats away from where I was.

"My legs are so stiff, I can't wait to stretch my legs and get home!" Person one said.

"I bet my bed was lonely without me." Person two sighed, sounding almost dreamy.

"I bet I missed it more." Person one joked.

I smothered a laugh, they had no idea. Try nearly a month on a thin mattress, with only a blanket and pillow.

People's shuffling steps as they moved out of the plane got closer to me, and I realized that I had to prepare for the locker to be opened. I curled into a small ball as far away from the bag as I could and turned all my attention to my spider-senses. I tensely waited for the distinct buzz it would give me when it sensed I could be discovered.

I can't believe I used to live without it, it has so many uses. Such as making the perfect pancakes. How did I know that? I often cooked them as midnight snacks. Yes, I had been sneaking down into the kitchen and making food. I was a growing super-hero with a fast metabolism, give me a break.

Snapping out of my thoughts at the sudden buzz, I camouflaged just as the flap opened. They glanced around and spotted their bag. With a tug, it came down to the ground. I waited for them to close the flap, but instead, they just stood there idly as they waited for their turn to move.

I almost silently uncurled, panic settling in quickly. Why did they not close it? Beats me, but this just made everything harder.

I peeked out to see the line was moving and the owner-of-the-bag was just about to begin moving. Should I drop down and follow them? Nah, I wouldn't have a chance to prepare myself for a mad dash.

Finally, they walked out of the plane and disappeared from my sight. Breathing out a quiet sigh of relief, I un-camouflaged and swung my legs out. I dropped down with a muffled 'thump' and ducked into a seat to recover for a few moments. This was it, when I got up and out of the plane I would have to move as quickly as I could so as not to camouflage too long.

I listened to my surroundings and couldn't hear any footsteps. There probably wasn't anyone onboard so I could wait until I was in the jet-bridge before camouflaging. That should work, and it gave me just that little extra bit of time that could be crucial. I took a deep breath then got up and walked down at a normal pace. Maybe I could wait even longer before camouflaging, as long as there was no one in the jet-bridge. Yeah, that would work.

There was a loud screech of my spider-sense just as someone screamed behind me. I jumped, turning around fast enough for my body to protest to find a woman standing there. She was wearing a flight attendant uniform and she was just peaking around the corner. She was frozen in place, both hands covering her mouth.

"I… come in peace?" I offered, taking a hesitant step back. More to get ready to sprint than anything else in case she made a move to grab me.

They stood in place as if they were doing their best imitation of a statue, barely blinking as they looked me over several times. I hesitated, caught between wanting to flee and getting as far away from this person as possible, or staying and explaining that she couldn't tell anyone I had been here.

If Hydra found out… It wasn't something I wanted to think about. So I stayed, limbs tensed and ready to run.

"You're… alive!" She finally moved, coming over and putting a hand on my shoulder as if checking to see that I wasn't a ghost. I tensed, and she pulled her hand away. "Everyone thought you were dead!"

"Um…" I struggled to say something. Of all the times to fail me, brain! I'm fine in battle, but talking to an excited stranger is hard? Come on!

"Wait a minute, why are you on this plane?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, um, the thing is… please don't tell anyone I was here." I blurted out, taking another small step back. If my mask wasn't covering my face I knew I would look beyond terrified to her.

Their frown deepened, "Why not? Everyone's been wondering what happened to you. Many didn't think you were dead, I mean, normally a body would turn up or something but there was nothing. And you've been gone so long."

I laughed nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. "Um, you see… there are these really bad people after me? Yeah, um, I need you to promise me that you will not tell anyone I was here. They're still after me, I… I don't want them to get me again."

Understanding suddenly flooded her eyes. Before I could protest, she wrapped me in a tight embrace. I tensed, but after a few moments, I relaxed just a tiny bit.

"Is there any way I can help you?" She asked quietly. She let go of me and I took a few steps back.

"I need to get out of this airport. I, uh, I was going to just camouflage the whole way but I don't know how long I can do that. So… do you have a bag I could hide in?" Why was I telling her this?

She laughed, "Wait, what? Wouldn't it be easier just to walk through in your normal, everyday clothing? Wait, unless you're actually a whole bunch of spiders pretending to be a human." She joked.

I laughed quietly, "You've discovered the big secret, oh no. But, um, no. I don't exactly want to reveal my secret identity to just anyone and the guys after me know my face, sorry."

She nodded, "Alright, as long as you can squeeze in."

As she turned around to grab her bag, I spoke up, "What about airport security? Wouldn't they find me in here?"

She turned around, a smirk on her face, "Flight attendants don't have to go through security, we have places to be and things to do."


	17. Chapter 17

This was the worst idea I had ever had.

When she had brought out her bag, thankfully half-way full, she had simply gestured for me to hop in. I had curled into a tiny ball, trying to appear like a normal bump formed by an overstuffed bag, but staying like that while I was jostled around was difficult.

Now, here I was, being knocked around as the flight attendant casually walked out of the plane.

I'll say it once, I'll say it twice, **why was this my life?** Peter probably never had to deal with this.

I could hear the sounds of thousands of people moving along and talking, and it was a terrifying thought to know they're out there, fine and happy, unaware of the fact that Spider-man is right under their noses. Not to mention how loud it was, like an angry swarm of bees around my head. I lived in New York, but I had become used to quieter spaces because of my time at Hydra. And for whatever reason, my ears had decided to turn everything up to eleven now that I was hyper-conscious of my surroundings.

Anyone of them could get suspicious of the lump in this bag, they could tell security and security would stop us and I would be found-

I cut my thoughts off there, I was still being paranoid. I had to stop, I would dig myself a deeper hole. I couldn't just live my life in fear, like so many people do. But yeah, the risk was still high. I took a deep breath and turned my attention to the outside world. This time, however, I listened to more specific noises than just the loud buzz. I would drive myself into a panic, otherwise, and that would be pretty dangerous. I had to calm myself down with the smaller noises.

I immediately heard the soft giggles of a young kid. I smiled lightly, listening to them as they squirmed in one of their parent's grasp. I guessed that they were being tickled, as their squeals were playful. I could hear the parent laughing quietly.

I listened as someone quietly hummed to a tune, their voice soft yet beautiful. They should become a singer.

Another person was getting their dog back from airport security. They were murmuring quiet reassurances to the pet. Wait, was their name Fluffy? Huh.

Before I could listen in to anyone else waiting in security, the bag was suddenly jolted to a stop. I frowned, a mixture of confusion and anxiety flooding through me. Why were we stopped? Had security seen the 'mysterious lump' and decided to investigate?

But I couldn't hear anyone asking to see what was inside of the bag, instead, I heard chatter. I frowned, wondering what the hold-up was. Had she forgotten what I had at stake? No, I shouldn't think so lowly of them. That would be an unfair judgment, especially considering their treatment of me thus far.

She was probably talking to a few of her colleagues, that was more likely than anything else my terrified mind could conjure up. I had to stop being suspicious, people wanted to help other people. They were just like me. I saved lives by protecting them from robbers, alien invasions and more, they helped people like me get through rough patches.

Well, my situation was kind of special, but still.

I waited patiently, fiddling with a loose thread on the inside of the bag. I couldn't see it, and it was a little bit difficult to feel through the latex, but it helped to distract me. Slowly I began to understand where all the loose strands were, the way the threads had been tied together to make the string, how it got loose. I did this all by picturing it in my mind. I smiled to myself at my small accomplishment. I began to feel around the edges, trying to find anything else to do. I didn't find anything in time for the bag to be put back at an angle and wheeled away. Oh well. I listened instead to the loud clicking of her high heels.

I wondered how women wore them. I had once gotten into mom's wardrobe when I was little. Just for fun, I had stepped into the shoes far too big for me, my feet barely half its size. It had been reasonably sized high-heels for her, but for me, they tilted everything and made it nearly impossible to walk in.

Even then, I persevered until I had been standing in front of her, a goofy smile on my face. She had taken a picture of me, and that's why I remembered that to this day.

I wondered why people put something uncomfortable on their feet and walked throughout the day. Wouldn't your heels hurt? I guess you would get used to it after a while.

I was jolted around again as she walked across small bumps on the ground, and then it was smooth sailing. We were on concrete now, not carpet. Everything was louder too, as I was pretty sure we were outside. As I listened to some of the people talking around me I realised that she had pulled up in front of the area taxis pick people up. There were taxi drivers politely asking if they needed help get baggage into the boot and where they wanted to go, people talking about their trip to each and the loud honking of cars.

Then I realised something that made me cringe. This trip was going to be weird. I mean, it would be pretty dangerous to be in a crash in this bag. I had nothing to protect me from serious harm if it did happen. I didn't want to get hurt again, especially after the fiasco that was my wrist. And, if I was injured and Hydra caught up with me it could slow me down enough for Hydra to find and get me. I wasn't sure if I would make it out alive after that. So, with that decided, I tried to think of a viable way to pop out of this suitcase. Do I just... pop out and say hello to the taxi driver? What was the harm? If I did it subtly enough, I wouldn't scare them enough to make them lose control. Now that would be embarrassing for all parties involved. And dangerous, don't forget dangerous.

What if I said something as I popped out? Just stretched and went, "It's a nice day we're having"? Hmm, maybe not. Maybe it would be better to just wait until we got to wherever the flight attendant was going? They were either going home or to a hotel, from my best guess. The chances of crashing were one in five-hundred. At least I think that's what it is.

Except, I had also been on a plane for eighteen hours, lying down and pretty really uncomfortable. They hadn't made the overhead lockers for humans after all. A chance to sit in something mildly comfortable would be a godsend. The last place I had been where there was something comfy to be on was in the library back in Wakanda, and those chairs weren't particularly comfortable in the first place. Maybe the next place I would be able to sit comfortably would be at wherever the flight attendant was taking us. I was thinking it might be her house but I couldn't be one-hundred percent certain.

After I get out of the car and leave the flight attendant I was going to head to a library to find the next train to New York. It was going to be the best way to do. If I could I would try and pay for it, but if I couldn't I might ride on the top or something.

I didn't get a chance to fully decide because the car had pulled up and it was our turn. She wheeled us forward and politely turned down the offer to put the bag in the boot. She sat down in the back, putting me on the floor on the opposite side of the car. The seat was right behind me, taunting me to get out of the bag and sit in it.

I heard the flight attendant settle into the seat and pull on her seatbelt. She then told the taxi driver where she wanted to go. The car pulled off the curb and we were on our way.

With that decided, I began to fiddle with the edge to try and find a way to get out. I realized a moment later that the zips would be at one end of the bag or another. So I reached around myself, thanking how flexible I was, and found one end. Unfortunately, I couldn't feel the zip there. It was at the bottom, not the top.

Crap, that meant some stuff would spill out if I attempted to get out.

Did I really want to do that? It would cause the nice flight attendant more hassle than she deserved, especially after helping me.

Wait, didn't taxis have cameras in them? Would they release video of me as news, revealing to everyone one in the world I was still alive? That would be great and all, people would stop being shocked to see me and they'd stop worrying, except then Hydra would be on me like bees to honey. The flight attendant would be in the frame and everyone would flock to her, asking questions about why I had been in her bag.

I could handle the press, kind of, but I didn't know how well she could handle it. I was supposed to be selfless, and that would be so selfish of me. I didn't want Hydra to go and interrogate her or something.

I sighed, being a superhero and protecting people was hard. You never know what the right decision was, and a bad one could cost lives. In this case, my life was endangered. Well, kind of, but the point was still there.

I finally decided that sitting on something was better than being squished up and cramping my muscles. Besides, Hydra was probably still looking for me in Wakanda, it would take a while for them to regroup and go after him again.

I quickly solved my zip and bag problem. I rocked forward, and then went back hard, using my weight to make the bag topple. The feeling of falling was still slightly scary, and for a second adrenaline flooded through me. I fell to the ground with a loud thump. Even though I had prepared for the inevitable collision with the ground, I still flinched. I relaxed for a moment, preparing myself for my next step.

By the heavy breathing next to him, I knew I wasn't the only one who had freaked out.

I fiddled around with the zip, frowning when I realized the zip wasn't on both the inside and outside. This wasn't my sleeping bag, I should have expected that. So, quickly improvising, I attached a finger to the cool metal underneath the zipper and used my wall-crawling ability to slowly open up the bag.

I flipped the flap of the bag and immediately stretched out, similar to a cat. How long had I been there? Curled up in an impossible ball waiting for a good opportunity to get out? Too long, and my muscles agreed.

I finally looked over at the flight attendant. She was clearly amused by my antics if the way she was grinning like a madman and biting her lips were anything to go by. The smile was infectious, and so I joined in. I knew she wouldn't be able to see it, so I gave her a small, goofy wave.

Maybe I should get a thinner fabric for my face? More expressions would come through. Except, then it would look kind of goofy, seeing small things like the lines of my face moving. Apart from hiding my secret identity, my mask helped conceal how terrifying fighting baddies was for me. They would make fun of me, there was no question about that. Two-in-one uses, like that shampoo.

I sat up, hoisting myself up and onto the car seat and instantly relaxed. It was so comfy! I pulled my seatbelt on as an afterthought. Can't forget one of my main reasons for possibly revealing myself to Hydra, after all.

Wear your seatbelts, kids.

I sat there, soaking in the comfort of the seat when I heard a startled gasp from the front of the car. The taxi driver had finally noticed his newest customer. His face was so floored, that I had to bite my lip just to stop myself from laughing.

"Don't mind me," I said, trying to smother my laughter, "Just your friendly neighbourhood, well not this neighbourhood but a neighbourhood, Spider-man!"

The flight attendant couldn't hide her laughter this time, and I quickly collapsed into my own laughter. The taxi driver looked conflicted between shock and awe, and I laughed even harder.

Huh, did Peter ever have stuff like this happen to him? It was probably more 'I-love-you-so-much-spidey' and not 'how-the-heck-did-this-kid-get-here-oh-they're-a-superhero.' He was really popular is all I'm saying. Even now, if I was being completely honest.

"Where are we headed?" I asked, looking between the two of them.

"I was going back to my place. I reckon it's the best place to go right now." She smiled. I froze, she knew I was in trouble but I doubted she knew just how bad of a situation I was in. I didn't want another person and their fate resting heavily on my mind. I couldn't let another potentially be hurt because of me.

"Um, actually, I don't think that's a good idea," I said slowly, looking down at my hands. "The people who are after me… their influence is huge. They can do some really bad stuff so easily. They probably already know I'm here because of all the cameras in the car. You would be in danger, I don't know how far they'll go to get me back."

I saw them both stiffen. I could tell they were processing what that would mean for them, and then I could see the horror dawning on their faces as they realized what that meant for me. It was better that they knew now and could prepare, instead of being attacked out of the blue. Better that they were safe. I could take their pitying looks if it helped them. The taxi man pulled to the side of the road and pulled the car to a stop.

I looked around, confused. Was he going to kick me out of the car? I couldn't blame him, and I understood why. It would even be kind of useful in all honesty, I could start on my way home quicker.

He turned around to look at me, and my eyes darted to my feet. I heard him draw a deep breath, so I slowly looked up again.

"I know your New York's hero, but you sound like you've been through a lot. This one is off the books, I'll see if I can even edit the videos for you." My heart leapt into my throat. Why had everyone been so nice to me? From the lady who bandaged up my arm, to that guy in the soup kitchen (even if he didn't actually help me in any way, he was just concerned) and now these two. I guess I did sound like a wounded puppy, or looked like I guess, but how nice everyone had been to me… it was unbelievable.

"On one condition," I paused in my mini celebration. Oh no, those three words almost always meant bad news, nearly always for me. "You sign something for me, like…" his eyes looked around his dashboard, trying to find something suitable.

When he turned back around to look at me, he had a Pikachu and a pen. I bit my lip, trying not to laugh. Well, this was new. My first signature was going to be on a freaking Pokémon.

Wait, I had never thought of making a signature for this side of me.

"I never thought I would get this popular, I don't even have a signature for, y'know, Spidey me." I half-joked, trying to figure out what the best sort of signature would be. Should I do my normal running writing? Someone could identify me with that, though. Maybe it was a bit of a stretch and my paranoia was getting the best of me, but you could never be certain.

"Wait, what was Peter's signature?" I asked, looking up at the two of them. Immediately the flight attendant fished around in her pocket and grabbed her phone. I leaned over and watched as she searched it up. It was a simple Spider-man with a loop at the end that came round to underline it.

Hmm, "Should I just go with a plain old Spidey?" I asked them.

"I think that's a good idea," the taxi driver pipped up.

"Maybe add a Spider at the end? Just a quick little scribble?" The flight attendant added.

I grinned, now that would be different from Peter. His handwriting just spoke 'nerd' with its loopy, messy handwriting. "That's a great idea, thanks!"

I pulled the cap off the pen and grabbed the Pokémon. I turned it around, looking for the best place to put the signature. It had to be somewhere clear and visible, but it also couldn't cover anything important like the eyes. The biggest part of the toy was the head, but the face also had huge eyes.

I flipped it over, the back of the head would be the best place, I decided. I carefully wrote my newly decided signature and added a cartoonish spider to the end.

I hesitated a moment, trying to etch this into my memory. This was a step forward in my spidey career after all. People did recognize me and maybe even liked me. When I finally passed it and the pen back I wondered how much it would end up being worth. Probably a lot if I ended up dead soon.

The taxi driver beamed at me, "Let's get going now, shall we?"

I settled back into the seat as we pulled out back into the traffic.


	18. Chapter 18

The taxi driver pulled off beside a small house, generic house. It was surrounded by other small houses, on a pretty simple, copy paste street. It had a small front garden, with small flowers in it. It had a picket fence around the outside of the house. There was nothing off-putting about the house, nothing to make me feel like something was wrong at first glance.

Yet, for some reason that I couldn't put a finger on, my spider-sense was quietly warning me. It didn't seem to be telling me, say, a bomb will go off. It seemed to just be telling me to keep a careful watch on everything. And that, that was maybe the scariest thing my spider-sense could do. Telling me I wasn't safe was its whole job, and when even it can't tell me exactly what's wrong, then something bad was going to happen.

I took a deep breath, I was probably over-reacting. Chances are it was telling me to keep my head down low so no one would recognise me as a missing child or as Spider-man. Just walking into the flight attendants house could raise numerous questions even after I was gone. Undoubtedly there would be people on this street who knows her, and they might wonder what Spider-man was doing in her home.

I took a deep breath, attempting to ground myself. I wouldn't be here too long, so I shouldn't be freaking out over something so simple and relatively small. If anything, I was being stupid for freaking out this much. The flight attendant was nice, she wanted to help me and she would understand my need to maybe stay a night or less before heading on my own way.

Nothing was going to go horribly wrong, so there was no need to worry. Everything was perfectly fine. Just... fine.

I watched from the corner of my eye as she reached into her purse and pulled out some cash. The taxi driver appeared hesitant to grab it, but after she insisted that it was just to thank him and to consider it a tip for helping them, he took it. He put it into his small cashier up front before turning his body to properly look at us. I stopped looking out the window to show I was paying attention to him.

"Good luck Spidey, get home safe." He told me. His eyes were sincere, and I gave him a small smile in thanks even if he couldn't properly see it. I hoped he didn't talk to people too much about how he had helped me. I guess it was a good story, but maybe for a few days if he didn't spread the news too much I should be fine. He didn't know what I was going to do after this after all.

Hydra was not a force to be reckoned with, though. I would have to pretty careful.

The flight attendant grabbed her bag and got out of the car. I hesitated, the small tingle of my spider-sense turning up to a hum. I knew what I had at stake, I knew people were around and could see me, that was the only reason it could or should be going off. Sometimes I wished it would be quiet once I had logically come up with why it was doing that, in situations like this. In a battle, I needed it. I wouldn't be able to fight otherwise. However, in situations like this, I wished it would keep quiet until there was an actual conceivable threat around.

All it did was make me anxious and jumpy and on edge.

I saw the flight attendant look back to check where I was, and the taxi driver was giving me a concerned look in the rear view mirror. I took a deep breath, I was Spider-man. I shouldn't be this scared.

Just as a cautionary measure I camouflaged before I got out of the car. At this rate, my motto was going to be 'better safe than sorry.' Wouldn't that be quite ironic on a gravestone? The flight attendant had the widest eyes as she looked around for me. I guess this power of mine wasn't as common knowledge as many of my other ones.

"I'm here, just camouflaged, can we get into the house quickly?" I whispered as the taxi pulled away.

"Ah, okay." She said, hurrying to the door. Her keys jangled as she pushed it into the lock. The door opened with a click and she ushered us both inside. I stopped camouflaging, and as soon as she saw that, she that she made me sit down on the couch in what I assumed was the living room. I didn't bother to protest and instead watched her bustle around the kitchen.

Everything here was homely. There were a few pictures of what looked like friends and family around the place and overall the home had a nice charm to it. I settled into the couch and got comfortable, but didn't bother to turn the TV on. I didn't want to see anything on the news for now, and any shows I had been missing could easily be watched when I got back home. I especially didn't want to watch the news because it might make me feel guilty for not being there to help people.

I could hear the metallic hum of the microwave coming from the kitchen and a smell of what I was nearly certain was spaghetti wafted through to me. I wondered if it was for me, or for her. I hoped there was enough for both of us because that had been a very long flight and I reckon she would have been pretty busy. Eighteen hours was not something to scoff at. And that bit of chicken had definitely not been enough food. I was hungry again.

I could hear the unmuted sounds of her texting in the next room. I hummed quietly, wondering what she was typing. Probably just informing her friends that she was home. That reminded me, if I could get my hands on some cash I could call home again and inform them of how close I was. And this time when I called I wouldn't have to worry about time differences. It was only a few minutes, if any, ahead of us from here to New York. The only thing that could really concern me is if they're at work or not. So I guess if that's the case I'll call Ganke again to inform him of where I'm at.

Had Ganke told them about my spider life? I don't think he would have, not unless he knew I was dead. It would really upset my parents too, Mum because she learns that I've been going behind their back to put myself in danger to protect a city that kinda hated me. It would worse for her to know that it might be the whole reason I'm gone in the first place. She might worry that I was dead, actually she probably already thinks that I might be.

Dad might take this the hardest. He was really anti-mutant. To find out your son is one and they might be dead because of it would be pretty devastating.

My thoughts were interrupted as she came back in with the spaghetti in tow. She had switched out of her uniform into something more comfortable. She smiled at me as she offered it to me.

"Thanks," I said, carefully taking it out of her hand so not to spill any of it.

"Sorry, it's just some leftovers from my dinner couple nights ago. Hope that's okay." She told me, settling down on the opposite side of the couch.

I grabbed the hem of my mask and pulled it up so it sat neatly on my nose. I looked over and gave her a grin. "This is better than anything I've had in the last couple of weeks. You have no idea."

I didn't hesitate a moment later. I grabbed the fork and shovelled the food into my mouth as fast as I could, only briefly stopping to savour it. This was so much better than anything Hydra had given me. That might just be the hunger talking, but it was so good.

I saw her warm to the praise, "Is it really that good?"

I gave a hum of approval, instead of bothering to stop and swallow long enough to answer. Even though I only had a few more mouthfuls to go and it wouldn't slow me down that much. She snorted, "Let me get a napkin, you've got food all over your chin you pig."

I swallowed the final bite, "Correction, I'm an arachnid."

She groaned aloud as she got up and headed to grab said napkin. I grinned. I completely understood why Peter told so many jokes and puns now. Well, I had already understood but ya know. I put the dish beside me, musing over what I would do next. I wanted to get home as soon as possible, but I was still a couple hundred kilometres away. I could get on a plane again but after that last experience… nope, not doing that again.

I could hitchhike, but people would still ask questions. Which was annoying, really. I could walk, but that would take well over a week. The chances that Hydra would catch wind of me that way were pretty high, considering people might notice me and security cameras.

Plus I didn't have home field advantage around here. I didn't know the nooks and crannies that could hide me.

So, I guess I would catch a ride on the train. I didn't have any money, and begging would take too long, so I could just ride on the top. Wouldn't that be a hilarious sight to any passer-by's? All you would see is a brief glimpse of Spidey lying flat on top of a train. That would make a few people's days. I just had to see how it all panned out, but Plan A was probably going to be the train.

The flight attendant finally came back, a smile on her face as she handed me a napkin. I grinned back, before quickly getting rid of all the pasta on my face. I pulled down my mask and stood up, "Thank you so much for what you've done, but I want to get home as quickly as possible. I have to go now."

I got up and turned to go to the door but before I could take a step she grabbed my arm. Out of confusion more than anything else I looked at her to see what was up.

"Wait! I know these people, they're really nice and can help you get home faster. I texted them while I was heating up the pasta and explained what was going on. They're going to help you out, I promise." I hesitated, she looked so sincere. But... I didn't want to drag anyone into the mess that was my journey home. I had to do this on my own.

"Look, that's really nice but it's okay. I'll be fine without any more help, I already know how I'll be getting home. Thanks anyway." I told her, brushing off her hand and continuing towards the door.

She followed behind me, "But, asking favours of Hydra isn't something you do often, let alone having to tell them you didn't need help in the end."

My breath hitched. "Please tell me I heard wrong…" I muttered more to myself than her, before turning cautiously to face her, "Did you say Hydra?"

"Yeah, why? They're better than SHIELD, I know I can trust them to get you home." She said.

I took a deep breath, I could feel my heart already speeding up and pounding loudly in my chest. I had to remain calm to get out of this situation, "Tell them not to come, or better yet, get me out of here now. Now."

Her confusion increased, "What do you mean? They'll help you!"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, taking a moment to see what my spider-sense was doing. It was starting to properly warn me to get out of here, that wasn't good. "They were the ones that kidnapped and experimented on me in the first place, if they get me again they're going to kill me."

Her eyes widened, "W-what? You've got everything wrong! Only SHIELD would do something like that."

I grit my teeth, "I don't care what you think, get me out of here now or I will **die**."

The hum of my spider-sense was getting increasingly worse, and I knew that they were already here, if not about to be if it was going off like this. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. I was Spider-man, I could get out of here okay.

Maybe.

Probably.

Hopefully.

Actually, they would be more prepared than me, I just had to do the best I could. And that involved getting the biggest head start I could.

"If you're not going to help me, get out of my way," I told her, trying to keep the shake out of my voice. It failed because her alarm grew. She shrunk in on herself, as though trying to understand her misguided belief in Hydra was still right. I didn't have time for this, every second she paused was another step closer to Hydra getting me.

Another step closer to possibly being killed.

I threw my hands up in the air, "Don't tell them where I go, at the very least. Look after yourself," I told her, before turning to the door and opening it. I immediately regretted it as my spider-sense screamed at me. I ducked behind the door as several bullets came through, followed closely by some sort of object.

My spider-sense screamed at me and before my mind could react I was running towards the back door of the house. The object behind me exploded and sent gas hurtling through the house. I managed to gasp in a breath of fresh air before it reached me. I grabbed the sliding door and snapped the lock as I tugged it open. Without a second thought, I whipped around and slammed the door closed.

My mind was whirling, Hydra was here as soon as they knew where I was, I hadn't been able to get the flight attendant out of there and I had no idea if that gas bomb was purely meant to harm me or was a plain and simple gas bomb.

I snapped myself out of it, my spider-sense had calmed down from its non-stop screaming for a moment but now it was rearing its head back up again. I wasn't safe, I had to move or they would capture me. I had spent enough time agonizing over what they could do to me, I didn't want to let any of it come true.

They would expect a breakout next time, they would stop me from getting out. I had to get away.

I jumped over the fence to the next house over as a Hydra agent sprinted around the corner. Bullets splintered the wood and I sheltered my head between my hands. I heard them talking into their walkie-talkie as they reloaded their gun but I wasn't able to hear what was said.

I raced over to the other side of the street and jumped over the fence, before turning and jump over the fence to my right. I didn't know what I was trying to do, I was just blindly running with my spider-sense to help guide me. Like a wild animal. They had reduced me to blindly running out of fear, why did I have to be so scared of them? Peter would have made a plan while he ran, but I couldn't think behind the haze that was me panicking.

Why did I have to be so stupid?

I tuned into my spider-sense for a moment, noticing it was still humming urgently but not screeching. They were following, but they hadn't reached me yet. I had a minute or so to think before they could reach me. I ducked behind a bush, taking shallow breaths as I attempted to calm down.

What could I do? I didn't know if they had sewers like New York so I couldn't do that. I was also in a residential area, so maybe if I ran far enough without leaving any traces I could duck into a house and hide properly. I could use the classic 'hide under the bed.'

Except, what would happen then? They would keep on looking in the one area until they eventually found me. I had to find a quick getaway. Where was the nearest train station? Or highway? At least on a highway, I could go faster than any Hydra agents. If they followed me in a car I could simply run across a bunch until I felt like I was far enough away.

Except, I had no idea where I was. All I knew was that I was in Washington, with Hydra agents following after me. My first problem was evading them, the second was getting home. I needed to work on my priorities and not think ahead so far.

I crawled out of the bush and continued to run, I would zig zag at random and hope that they wouldn't reach me. The only thing I had on my side was my unpredictability and spider-powers.

I heard a shout from behind me and my pulse jumped. I jumped the fence and reached the next street, only to find more agents swarmed there.

They didn't seem prepared either since they scrambled to hoist their guns up and aim at me. In their distraction, I ran past them and went to jump the fence.

My spider-sense screamed at me a second too late. Something enveloped me and my muscles clenched, a scream tearing its self through me as pain like fire swept over me. I collapsed to the ground, my body refusing to get up and run.

The moment my muscles loosened up just a little bit, I ripped the thing off of me (it looked like a net of some kind) and tried to run. Again, my spider-sense screamed at me and I curled into a small ball as they fired at me.

I thanked my lucky stars that none of the bullets seemed to have hit me as I got up and raced towards the fence. As I went to jump over the fence, my spider-sense screamed at me to protect myself.

Instead of reaching up to get a grip on the top to jump over, I knew I wouldn't be over in time to evade all of the bullets, instead I lunged forward to put my palm on the metal side and with a harsh tug, I ripped a section of it out of the ground and away from the rest of the fence.

With one smooth movement, I whipped around, using the fence as a shield to deflect the oncoming bullets, and braced. They dented the side, one digging into my arm and would have been painful if it wasn't for the adrenaline racing through me. I realized a split second later that it would have probably gone into my chest.

I stepped back, dropping my temporary shield and looking at them. They were focused on reloading, some already getting ready to aim at me. Their faces were determined, and I realized that they didn't even think of me as human.

I choked down a sob. I turned around and ran as fast as I could, thwipping a web up onto a house's roof and pulling myself up. I dropped behind a chimney as my spider-sense went off. The chips flew past me, falling around and off of the roof.

I breathed deeply, waiting for the barrage of bullets to stop before I jumped to the next roof. I ran as fast as I could, trying to keep ahead of the troops.

I hated this so much, I should have turned down the flight attendant, I should have run away at the sight of her. I should have gotten out of there as soon as my spider-sense began to warn me of something. The news would probably learn about this fight anyway, any attempt to conceal myself away from Hydra was blown. It was blown and now they had a better idea of where to look. They were going to put all the effort they had been into searching for me in Wakanda into America.

I saw shops coming into sight, but I didn't run in a different direction. I had nowhere else to go, and I could hide better here. And, technically it wouldn't be breaking in if the door was already open. I jumped to the next roof and then slipped off of the edge, immediately ducking down and landing on the ground. I opened the door to the shop and ran in, jumping over the shop counter and curling into a small ball against the wall, hidden from sight from everyone except the teenager who had dropped her phone in surprise.

"Please," I whispered, my voice more desperate and whiny than I wanted, "Don't let them know I'm here."

She nodded, her eyes wide in alarm. She grabbed her phone back from where she had dropped it and started to scroll through it casually, as if nothing had happened and I wasn't sitting here trying to keep quiet. From how close I was, I could hear her heart fluttering in panic, but it was starting to slow back down again.

I closed my eyes, putting my head on my knees. I could hear them coming closer, I could hear the sounds of the heavy boots, the guns clicking against their sides, the shouting, the cars, the people shouting their surprise… the voices…

They were yelling directions, telling each other to spread out and find 'the itsy-bitsy spider' the 'pest' the 'freak.' People were shouting in alarm at seeing guns out in the open, doors opening and closing as people scrambled to get inside.

I tried to draw in a breath, but my chest heaved and nothing seemed to get to my lungs. I continued to heave, my attempts getting more and more desperate by the second. My vision was starting to blur, my head pounding from my spider-sense and my head felt light headed.

I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe, they were coming and I couldn't breathe. I was going to die, right here from this or them. I was done for, and my parents would never know I was spider-man. I was going to die and no one would care. I was going to die and I never got to properly say goodbye to Ganke.

I was going to die and I would just be another kid who died trying to be a superhero.

Everything was too loud, I could hear them walking just outside of this place. I could hear every shuddery breath I took, I could hear my heart pounding loudly in my chest, I could hear the fluttery alarm in the teenager beside me.

I put both hands over my ears, trying to smother all the sounds. It only barely helped, every other sense was still going haywire.

Why did I have to get bitten by the stupid spider, why did I ever think running around in spandex was a good idea, why did I have to die here all alone?

Slowly I heard the footsteps disappear into the distance, I could feel my spider-sense calming down and people slowly making their way out of the shops. I again tried to heave in a breath, but still, I couldn't get anything.

I wanted to yell, to scream my frustration, but I couldn't.

I couldn't because I couldn't breathe.

I faintly realised the girl was saying something to me but I couldn't focus on her. She sounded like she was trying to be calm, but I could tell she wasn't by her pounding heart. I could hear her heart, I could hear everything so loudly yet it all seemed muffled too. She was... beside me? She was beside me, and her arm was hovering towards me hesitantly.

Was she going to alert Hydra like the flight attendant had? Was she just another Hydra agent trying to gain my trust before torturing me? I could feel my mask growing wet from my tears, but I didn't have the energy to care. The cashier wouldn't see it, probably. I had a mask sheltering most of my expressions.

I saw her hesitantly get up and walk away. I closed my eyes, a small, strangled sob finally leaving my mouth. I didn't know what I wanted to do, I was torn between running away and into the streets, except they would see me and so would everyone else and I would die, or staying here and taking my chances, but who knew what the cashier was doing? She could be just as bad as the flight attendant.

Another choked sob left me, a fresh wave of tears joining it. I was so, so stupid. I was so dumb that I thought I could survive this, I was such an idiot for thinking I could try and feebly protect everyone in New York, I was such a moron for putting on that Halloween costume, for accepting this costume, for thinking I could make any sort of difference, I pulled on the costume and it killed Uncle Aaron. I guess I would join him soon.

A flinched away as something touched me.

"Spider-man? Are you okay? That's a stupid question, of course not. You're bleeding and hiding from whoever was out there and from how you are now I bet they've done stuff to you and that's really bad, I'm sorry for whatever's happened. Uh, I have some water and I think we really need to do something about your leg but I know you probably don't want me to call an ambulance so I called a friend to come get you and help you. I hope you're okay with that?" They babbled.

I looked up, blinking away my tears and saw her crouched down with a plastic cup in her hand. She looked concerned but still had a reassuring, warm smile on her face.

I struggled to process what she had said. I had... what had happened to me? I had felt like I was going to die... and I had been really scared...

I absently wiped at my mask and felt how it felt damp and warm. I had been crying too. I lifted my arm and looked at it, it felt weak and almost foreign. Huh.

Something weirdly red caught my eye and I looked down to find a liquid dripping from my leg onto the ground. It took me a moment to realise it was blood.

Oh.

I followed the trail back up to my leg and found a portion of my costume blown out and in its place a gory, bloody mess. I had thought I had dodged everything? But I hadn't.

I felt light-headed. The pain wasn't processing properly. I felt weak, my body a trembling mess.

"Heh, didn't even realise that was there," I mumbled, feeling myself slumping against the wall.

"Wait, don't pass out! Stay with me here." She cried, reaching forward and grabbing a hold of my shoulder. I looked down at it absently as my eyes continued to droop.

"Give me... five minutes..." I whispered. The edges of my vision went fuzzy and I passed out to the sound of a car screeching to a halt.


	19. Chapter 19

I felt a sharp pain and my eyes flew open. Agh, that hurt what the heck was that? I blinked wearily and looked around.

Thankfully I didn't seem to be in a Hydra cell, which was where my mind had immediately jumped to. No, instead I looked like I was in a tiny living room. I was on a couch. So, I wasn't back in Wakanda, and I wasn't at the flight attendants-

Oh yeah, that's what happened.

I sighed and relaxed a bit, closing my eyes. I focused on my spider-sense and found it to be surprisingly quiet.

I felt tired and hazy, which was a bit concerning but I had just woken up. I didn't feel like calling out to whoever helped me either, they would probably ask me questions and mother hen me and I didn't feel prepared to do that.

I didn't want to think that hard either, but I knew myself well enough to know that that wasn't possible.

I didn't want to think about what I guessed was a panic attack and Hydra. I didn't want to think about how many people could be Hydra agents in this world. I didn't want to think about how easy it would be for someone to alert Hydra of my whereabouts. I didn't want to think about how I might never get to live a normal life again, no matter what I did. I didn't want to think about never seeing my family again because of how Hydra could come and kill them. I didn't want to think about never living a normal life again. I didn't want to think about how they would kill me. I didn't want to think about how about how big Hydra was, and almost impossible to take down it seemed. If SHIELD couldn't I stood no chance. I didn't want to think about how big of a risk I was taking by trusting whoever these strangers are.

I had a gut feeling that they wouldn't hurt me, backed up by my quiet spider-sense, but if the flight attendant could get past-

I needed to stop thinking about her, the damage was done and I would probably never have to see her again. I honestly never wanted to see them again, but a small part of me felt guilty for leaving so quickly. I had thrown away any concept of keeping a civilian safe, even if that civilian had just sent my enemies after me which had ended up with me being shot. Who knew what that gas had done to her? There was a chance it was wired specifically for me but chances are it wasn't. It could have seriously hurt her. If it was aimed to work against me and my healing factor no doubt it could really hurt a normal human.

I was supposed to be a hero. I was supposed to save innocent people… but where did I draw the line on who I would actively save? Murderers? Many anti-heroes killed, many actual heroes killed. Many other people kill for legitimate reasons, like defending themselves. I closed my eyes, she was innocent even if Hydra had corrupted her and if she was dead it was all my fault.

She could be dead and I didn't even know. Maybe I could go back and check in to make sure-… No! That would be suicide, maybe they didn't have the place filled with agents but there was a good chance the flight attendant was still being questioned about everything I said if she was still alive. The place would be under constant surveillance. The only reason they might not have it that way is if they didn't think I would come back. It was a pretty stupid thought, let alone to go through with it. I just wish I knew her name, then I could look at her background or something, or find out if she was dead.

I don't think she is, though. Even if they had put something toxic in the air I don't think they would recklessly throw that in without knowing that she would also be in the house. They would want to know what I was going to do next. So they would be questioning her. That was the most likely thing to happen. Here's to hoping that I hadn't said anything too stupid or incriminating, or anything that would give them a lead besides, 'getting home.'

Who was I kidding, they already knew my name. They probably knew when I said my first word, when I cried, when I did anything ever before they captured me.

I was so stupid. After everything I've gone through I should have learned by now that I was in way over my head. They were an unstoppable force and I was definitely not an unmovable object. This bullet just proved that. I was like a bug, ready for the squishing. Well, more accurately an arachnid. I just had to hope I could somehow scrounge out a life after this, where I could live in peace. Maybe they would give up trying to find me eventually? I had no idea how my life would be after this. If I lived, that is.

Nope! Nope! Not going down that line of thought… again. I was not going to die yet, nope, I would rather live as a hermit instead of dying. Wait, I was being a huge hypocrite, wasn't I? I went out to fight crime at night, letting that take priority over my falling grades (if not completely dead after this) and my social life, oh and how could I forget all the sleep I've lost?

I sighed and tried to stop thinking, focusing again on my spider sense. Still nothing. Not even someone glancing my way.

I wondered if it was too much to ask them to maybe drive me all the way to New York. It would be a whole lot easier on me, I would have a guaranteed way of getting there and the chances of being caught would be lower, but if Hydra did catch up to me then he could get hurt, not to mention other people. Who was I kidding, anything I did trying to get home was going to be risky. Hydra was probably already in New York waiting for any sign of me.

Maybe I shouldn't go home at all.

I quickly shook the thought away. That was cruel for all parties involved. I was already having panic attacks, and I was pretty paranoid (Just because I knew I was, didn't mean I could exactly stop it. I needed so much therapy it wasn't even funny). I needed some form of support. Not to mention Mum and Dad, they wouldn't really know what had happened.

But… maybe I should. I could hide somewhere and maybe slowly take down Hydra. Or stop them from coming after me, or something in general. Or I could try and get someone to watch over me, and go after me and my family if they got me again. Or someone to let my family know what happened to me if I died. Wait. Wasn't that SHIELDS job? I already knew they had an interest in me because of Fury.

I couldn't decide on anything right now when I was still tired physically... and emotionally. It would influence my decision, no doubt. That was common sense, right?

Anyway, what was I going to do now that I was currently staying with whoever these people are?

I hoped I could stay with them for a few days. I could get a whole bunch of sleep and maybe get some warm food. How would I get around the issue with my mask, though? Enough people knew my secret identity as it was, well, my face. Maybe not my name. It was more than I could be comfortable with though.

And my mask smelled, I had been sweating, eating questionable food and wadding in questionable water. Everything needed a wash before I smelt like a sewer, if I didn't already. I didn't want people to pass out as I walked past them. I mean, I could use that to knock my enemies out. Was there a hero or villain with that power? The power to knock people out just by being near them? I feel sorry for them, the Bugle would have an even bigger field day with that than me hiding on a plane. I knew there were some weird heroes and villains out there, I mean, who dressed up in a bird costume and thought it was a good idea to try and fly? Most people died by trying that.

Eventually, my thoughts went back to Hydra attacking and me fleeing. I remembered the guards who nearly stopped me with that electric net thing (that had been really painful, I swear if I had looked over myself earlier I would have seen some heavy bruising from that. Except, because of my okay healing factor they should be gone by now. Score one for my powers, minus one for my spider-sense not being as cool as expected). Why had the soldiers been there? They had been just as surprised as I was to see them so obviously they were just some kind of precaution. Of course, they would have planned for some kind of sighting of me, which means the whole place had been surrounded.

If they hadn't been so surprised… maybe I would be dead right now. Even though they still did get a lucky shot in, if they had been more coordinated I would have been shot in the head while I was on the ground for the few valuable seconds I was being electrocuted.

But… what did that mean for me? If they could descend upon me that quickly, then they've been waiting for some kind of confirmation of where I was and surrounded the area. They… they knew I would run. It's that simple. They planned for it. If I hadn't gotten out of the house before the gas could reach me, maybe I wouldn't have survived. I closed my eyes, how was I supposed to ever get home safely? They wouldn't let me live peacefully, they would keep on coming after me. I would endlessly be on the run…

I had to get some sort of help, maybe SHIELD would help. Here's to hoping they will actually try and help instead of going, 'too risky for us, let's not fetch this kid from a Hydra base. That's completely fine.' Like they did back in Wakanda.

Maybe I didn't have a choice about not coming home, after all. No, no I wanted to come home. I would just have to single handily, with limited or no food, money, and weapons, take down Hydra. If Captain America can do it, I totally can too.

I almost snorted. Yeah, I wasn't anywhere near as experienced as Captain America. For starters, he had some training. Two, he wasn't 13 when he did it. Wait, wasn't I 14 now? Had I missed my Birthday? I had no idea. And finally, he actually had resources and a team to back him up.

...And even he hadn't succeeded

I was just a middle-class kid from Brooklyn who had an Uncle who stole stuff who just so happened to pick up a spider that managed to sneak into his bag that then crawled out and bit me. Cap was specifically chosen by several high-ranking army men to get a makeover and then got trained.

I needed help. Who should I go to first…?

My spider-sense began to hum as someone stepped into the room. I moved to sit up and ended up hissing in pain, bent over in pain as my leg shot pain like I was being stabbed through my leg, making me feel sick from the pain alone. They hurried over and got me to lay back down which I did without much protest.

They crouched down next to the couch, and when I didn't feel like I would throw up from the pain I turned my head to look at whoever had helped me. I was met with the kind look of a college-aged student. He had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. I blinked a few times.

"Hey Spidey, back to the land of the living, huh?" He commented, getting up and moving out of sight. "You should be grateful you have superpowers because otherwise, you would be dead kid. It took quite a bit for me to stop you bleeding especially since I only had some clothes hanging around to wrap your leg in. I'm sorry but since you had passed out we had to take off your mask-" Wait, what? I reached up to my face and indeed found that it wasn't covered. How the hell hadn't I realised? "-so it would be easier for you to breathe and to check that your brain was doing alright."

He came back into sight with a cup of water and what looked like rolls of medical tape and bandages. He offered me the water and after a few moments of hesitation I took it and had a sip. Then I realised just how thirsty I was and gulped the rest down fairly quickly.

"You don't have to tell me your name or anything. I already feel guilty that I had to take your mask off." He said quietly, but he seemed sincere.

"Thanks..." I whispered, looking down at the ground.

"Now that you're awake I want to clean up your wound a bit more and get it some fresh wrappings. I am training to be a doctor, which is sorta of why Amber texted me, so I know what I'm doing. You okay with that?" He asked, making no move towards me. He was actually being really considerate...

"Yeah," I said. He smiled and whispered a thank you before standing up and helping me sit up properly. It helped that he did his best to not jostle my injured leg too much but I still ended up close to tears.

He sat down at the end of the couch and took the blanket off of my leg. I was still completely in costume so my eyes were immediately dragged to the contrasting white bandages wrapped around my thigh. At least half of my thigh was wrapped up.

"This won't be pretty, sorry kiddo." He said sympathetically. He grabbed a couple of pillows and stacked them under my foot so that he had easy access. Slowly he unwrapped it, revealing a frankly gross sight. The muscle was sort of exposed from my knee across, the wound about the size of my hand. I looked away, feeling queasy. "Yeah, I know. And that's from it healing till today with your superpowers."

"How long do you think it'll take to heal?" I asked quietly.

He hummed as he reached down to grab something beside him, "maybe a week? I can't be sure, kid. I have never met a super before in my life so..."

I sighed, "I don't think I'll be able to uh... leave until it's more healed. It really hurts and painkillers don't really work on me."

"Yeah, that's fine. I washed the wound when you first got here so it shouldn't get infected but I'm not sure if I should attempt to stitch it up. It could really speed things up but it might heal over the stitches and that will hurt trying to get them out." He explained.

That was actually pretty nice of him, he was actually... giving me options. "Uh, I won't leave till it's healed then. Is that fine with you?"

"Yep. I'll just text my roommate that you're here then. They won't spill don't worry." They grabbed a tiny needle and thread, preparing everything. "You can stay here as long as you need to."

* * *

It was later that day that I began to feel... worse off. Sticky, and unclean. Not sick, but like I would be if I kept on my ripped costume.

I felt dirty.

Which was no surprise, besides from that dip in the river I hadn't been able to wash since. It didn't help that only a day ago, but what felt like just hours for me, I had been crammed up hiding in the plane.

But with my leg, I didn't know how I could do it. And it didn't help that the guy (still had no idea what his name was...) wasn't around to help me. Man, if only I had access to the internet. At least then I would be able to get some sort of idea of what to-

Oh, Right.

I looked around myself and found a laptop in the corner of the room. I looked down at my leg. Ah, this was going to suck.

With as much care as I could, I fumbled around and got my legs out from the blankets. Then I managed with a bit of pain to stand up with my injured leg hovering above the ground as I leaned against the arm of the couch. I gritted my teeth, waiting for the pain to fade.

Why did it have to be now that I was bothered enough to get clean?

* * *

As I hobbled out of the shower, I looked at myself in the mirror.

The first thing I noticed was the large bags under my eyes. I looked like I hadn't slept for days. Which kind of surprised me, I did get a good night's sleep on the plane. Maybe it was because I cried recently, or from not sleeping well for the past month and a bit? I'll go with that.

The second thing I noticed was how much thinner I looked. Well, it wasn't too bad, but with my powers, I was hungry a lot more than I was before I had been bitten. I had only been having the occasional small meal while running and while I was at Hydra's base I only had one meal a day. The spaghetti that the flight attendant gave me was not enough to make up for the lost time. So, I could see my ribs a whole lot more. It definitely sucked.

The final thing I noticed… I definitely needed a haircut.

I sighed, burying my head in my hands. When I get home I'll be able to fix all of that. I just had to hold out until then.

I dried myself off and got into the fresh clothes I was borrowing. They had a lot better than the suit. I went to pick up my mask, but paused before I put it on. A part of me wanted to walk out without this on. But my identity was the most precious thing I now had with me. Someone could easily try and sell off my secret identity and him seeing my face could easily give him that chance.

I thought about it for a moment, if he didn't let Hydra get me which he could have easily done I don't think he's going to do something that horrible to me. Even then, unless I told him my full name it should be hard for him to figure out who I was, right? I mean, okay maybe it wouldn't be impossible but still. Maybe I could ask them not to? My mask really needed a wash too. It wasn't something I could ignore either. I could just hide out in here until it was washed and dried? I groaned aloud, did I really want to attempt that? If he got home early I was screwed.

Also, sleeping. Sleeping with a mask on was just asking for trouble.

I stared at my mask as I pondered over this. Would it really make that much of a difference? I miserably leaned against the counter. Secret identities sucked, being a superhero sucked, you always had to think so hard about whether or not a single decision might change your or someone else's life for the better or worse. I felt too exhausted for any of this. Could I trust Lee? They had helped stitch me up but then again any decent person would have tried to help me. But any normal person would have taken me to the hospital...

He seemed like a nice person at least. Like the flight attendant…

I should just ask him not to peer into who I was, or watch the news. I was probably going to be on the news when I got back home. Maybe not here in Washington though? Just New York news? One could hope.

After a moment I had decided and took it with me as I hobbled along to the laundry.


	20. Chapter 20

The artificial light from the computer lit up the room, casting everything in a ghostly horror movie type light. Like those cameras which have night vision and then the bad things happen sorta camera. Like that one movie with the woman who threw her boyfriend at the camera at the end of the movie. Why did I watch that movie anyway? I don't even know. It gave me nightmares for a solid month. I dealt with weird villains, but watching a horror movie was the one that really got to me. It was weird.

Anyway, it was nearly one in the morning and I could already tell future me hated me. Why do I do this to myself? I had gotten used to sleeping at a reasonable hour on this journey of mine... ish. Well, I wouldn't call this a journey because that suggested it was in some way good. Forced holiday? Point is, it was ridiculous that it took being dragged halfway across the world, forced to do stuff against my will, escaping, being wounded, just generally running and having no technology around me to go to sleep at reasonable times.

Why did my life have to be so weird?

It didn't help that I knew it wouldn't help me heal any quicker. Maybe a part of me didn't want it to heal... no one knew I was here, including Hydra. I wouldn't have to worry about Hydra for ages. I was one needle in the giant haystack that was the world. They couldn't just break into everyone's homes from here to New York.

Fantasies were nice, but I still had to go home and salvage a life.

I rubbed my eyes wearily, looking back at the laptop's clock. 1:42 am. I had no self-control, I needed sleep but I seriously couldn't be bothered to close the laptop. **Ugh**.

At least on patrols, I had adrenaline pumping through me, like a low buzz to keep me up and running. Instead, all I was relying on now was my lack of self-preservation and stubbornness. And the fact that I was pretty sure I wouldn't have to do anything tomorrow. **UGH.**

I wasn't even looking at anything relevant. I was just scrolling through the news like the stupid person I was. I mean, yeah it was relevant to see what had been happening while I was away. Another battle in the streets that resulted in property damage? What else is new? A new superhero joined the ultimates and sucks? Thank you, J Jonah Jameson, no one cares what you say. Another supervillain wants to rule the world? Like we haven't heard that a million times. There was next to no point in scrolling through the news. **UGH.**

I clicked away from the news, yeah there wasn't anything I really had to look at. Maybe search up Spider-man. I almost immediately clicked away when; "Was the second Spider-man an alien all along?" was the first suggested page.

Oh my god, did people seriously think I was an alien? A freaking ALIEN? I didn't know whether to laugh hysterically or cry.

Just… why. Why was I even protecting all these people? Okay, maybe I'm not really protecting anyone currently because I hadn't stopped a robbery or anything in nearly a month and I had caused some property damage. Well, not me but Hydra with all their guns. Wait I had ripped that fence from the ground… You know what, never mind.

I glanced back at the clock. 1:44 am. Yep, future me still hated me. Whoops. I should sleep. I was tired. My eyes were sore and drooping. But wait… maybe I could play some coolmathsgames to lull myself to sleep.

Yep, that would totally work. I definitely wasn't procrastinating going to sleep. Nope, not at all.

A loud bang sends me skyrocketing onto the ceiling, causing me to almost lose my grip again as my leg sent agonising pain through me. Luckily I held on, which meant that thankfully I didn't land on the couch again which would make the pain worse.

Holy CRAP what was that? It didn't sound like a bang from a gun, it was more like something being hit really hard by a hammer, but it was still terrifying in its own right. It had come from the front of the house. Wait, what the? Did we have a robber trying to break in? My spider-sense was suspiciously quiet… Had hydra put some gas in the house that got rid of my spider-sense? Had I breathed in that gas from when they attacked me and that's what's affecting me? I didn't think I had. I would think my spider-sense would warm me about a gas like that.

I cautiously began to crawl towards the sound on the ceiling. At this point, I didn't think it really mattered if I didn't have my mask on. All of Hydra knew my identity, Shield knew, and probably some people on the internet had guessed. And it was one in the morning, no one would be awake and no one would be able to see my face in the dark.

As I peeked my head around the corner, the front door swung open and a figure stepped inside. I could only see their outline in the moonlight. Their clothes were baggy, and when I looked them over I couldn't see a gun. But just because I couldn't see one didn't mean there wasn't one. So I kept my head back and my body tense.

I was glad that at the very least I was so tired my brain wasn't even properly telling me to freak out. Like, yeah Hydra is really bad but? My brain didn't recognize that? I was too tired to freak?

Just as I decided to sneak forward and probably pin them to the ground to demand who they were and what they wanted with me, leg be damned, I was blinded by a bright light and literally hissed as I retreated back around the corner, pain making the hiss grow in volume before I abruptly shut up. I had heard something being dropped with a 'thud.'

Crap. This was just great. But, I mean, holy crap for them too. They just say a person on the ceiling retreat into the shadows. Oh crap, they were probably going to grab a garlic or a gun. Either one at this point. Did vampires crawl on the ceiling? They did sleep upside down.

"I'm not a demon!" I called from the shadows.

"That's it, I need more sleep. I'm hallucinating so hard I saw a person on the ceiling. Scratch that, demon." I heard them murmur.

"I'm real, please don't shoot me," I pleaded.

I peeked back around the corner now that my eyes had adjusted enough and saw a girl, probably in her twenties wearing baggy sweatpants and a green hoodie with some logo on the front. There was a bag beside them that had clearly been dropped in shock. Her face spoke a mixture of 'wtf' and surprise.

"See? You can come pinch me or whatever. I'm 100% here. I'm just… on the ceiling. That's the only thing different about me and pretty much every other person on earth. Except for that one person, but they're six feet under the ground. Too soon? Too soon." My voice trailed off into a murmur before I realised something, "Wait, Spider-woman too!"

"Oh my god, I thought Spider-man was dead and Brad was pranking me." She whispered. So that was his name?

"Okay, you've gotta be more clear. Peter Parker, or moi with the black suit. We're different. Wait, dagnabit you kind of know who I am now. Secret identities are the worst. Please excuse me."

"…I thought you were that new one, cause you're much too small to be Peter."

"Hey! I take offence to that. I'm- wait are you Hydra? You're making me blubber everything out so easily. Did you drop a truth serum case in here?"

"Hydra…? What's Hydra?"

"Super evil organization that kidnapped me."

"…Right…"

"Yeah… Being a superhero is weird." I came forward, extending a hand for a handshake as I let myself hang upside down so only my feet were hanging from the ceiling, injured leg hovering a bit so it wasn't taking any strain. The change in position had the added benefit of taking the weight off of my foot. My hand only reached her nose. "Hi, I'm Spider-man. You can call me amazing, Spidey, incredible, Miles, spectacular, ultimate…"

"What?" Her face looked even more confused then when we had started.

"Anyway. Hi." My hand was still outstretched. I sighed. "You're supposed to shake it. At least pretend to know how to be an adult."

She hesitantly reached forward and shook my hand. "What are you doing in my house anyway?"

"Long story short, there was a nice person who called Brad because I was injured and freaking out and he's letting me crash here."

"I'm going to bed now…" They said, picking their bag up and heading down the hallway.

"You do that, I'll be here. Night!" I called. The light switch was flicked off and I was left standing on the ceiling, watching after them. Yeah, I should probably get some sleep too.

Maybe after one more video...

* * *

Brad dropped ten dollars beside me as I ate a late breakfast. Or you could call it lunch, but it was still breakfast cause it was 11:37 and not yet the middle of the day. And I was having cereal. So that made it breakfast. Or brunch? Brunch. Let's go with brunch.

"You can go buy yourself something with that if you get hungry and you don't want ramen, or buy something in general. I don't mind, it's yours now. I've got some classes to go to." Brad said as he finished packing some books into his bag.

"Thanks," I mumbled, struggling to keep my eyes open enough to bring another spoonful of cereal to my mouth. I wasn't a morning person at the best of times.

I watched them grab something from the cupboard before they finally zipped up their bag (it had grown two times its size from when I first saw it five minutes ago, I swear) and started over to the door.

"Oh! While you're here please don't blow up the house. It would take forever to find a new roommate and house I could stand. Also a lot of money. Bye!" They shouted over their shoulder as they went to close the door, and then the door shut with a thud followed by a click as they locked it.

I shovelled another spoon full of cereal into my mouth, looking down at the ten dollar note. What should I do with it? I knew I didn't actually have to spend it but I was starting to get bored on the computer, especially because it would be dumb to log onto any of my accounts to contact home. Hydra would be on to me pretty quickly.

Wait, were there any pay phones around? I wouldn't have to worry about time zone differences so my parents should be awake… wait, what day was it? They might be at work, but if I called their mobiles it should be fine. How long had I been gone anyway? I finished off the last spoonful of cereal, put my bowl in the dishwasher and then went over and looked at the laptop. So it was October 29th and that meant I had been gone for…

Holy crap.

Forty-seven days.

I groaned loudly, throwing my head back. I was going to be doing summer school, at the very least! I mean, at least it was only the start-ish of the year but it was still a huge knockout. Ugh, this sucked.

Anyway, payphones. Something I need. I had a look at Mr Google and found that there were several at train stations around me. The closest station to me was a few blocks away. Hmm.

I mean, every hero ever in the history of ever always use over-sized hoodies or a cap to hide their secret identity or to look 'inconspicuous' but who are we kidding, they all look suspicious as hell. Wait, if it's sunny outside it shouldn't look weird and I'll be able to get away with it.

I glanced out the window, it was probably sunny enough. Should I take my costume too? It might look a little weird to wear a long sleeved and long pants but in the long run, it would be useful.

An hour later (I got distracted, checking the exact location of the payphones had turned into me watching a YouTube video or two, and then I thought I should check the weather again and what times trains got in so there wouldn't be as many people around when I got there. that what taken me at least twenty minutes to work out when it would be quiet. It then took me five minutes to find a hat I could borrow. So, all in all, I had lost about an hour to doing pretty much nothing. Whoops.) I carefully climbed out of a window towards the back and shutting it nearly all the way closed but leaving a small crack so I could get back in when I came back. headed out the door, leaving a window open a crack so I could get in that way. I didn't have a key after all.

I tugged my hat down a bit lower before I grabbed my temporary crutches and hobbled onto the sidewalk. Brad had snuck them from the hospital for me to borrow so I wouldn't have to hurt my leg more than I had to.

This felt nerve-wracking and it didn't help at all that I was more defenceless than usual. I mean, these crutches were amazing but they wouldn't be much help when climbing up a wall.

I mean this quiet week had helped me calm down but now being out here again made all the nerves that had seemingly stored up come crashing back. It made me wary of anyone walking the street. The flight attendant had proven to me that anyone could be apart of Hydra. You never knew who could be one of them, and you would be none the wiser.

It made me anxious.

And the worst part is that since they had already once swarmed and nearly gotten me in Washington, there was every chance that they could do it again. They would be looking for me here, no doubt. If it hadn't been for Brad and that other nice lady I would have had to wait quite a while there in that store or had to camouflage longer than I was able to. They might even have infra-red technology so anything I could have tried to get out of there could have led them to me.

I quickened my pace as much as possible, the sooner I talked to my parents the quicker I could go back to his place and plan out my next move.

It didn't take long to get to the station and when I walked in I almost sighed with relief. I had timed it well, it was quiet. There was only a pair of teenagers on their phone and a man in his mid-forties on the next platform across. Besides from that, the only other person was the man sitting in the booth. None of them were paying attention to me besides from a brief glance over, which meant I would be fine.

Well, unless they recognised me from the news. Then they would probably call the police and that was a huge can of worms I didn't want to think about. Hydra and the police actively looking around for me would really hurt my chances of getting home. The police could be corrupt with Hydra agents too!

I shook my head and hobbled over to the payphones only to find that it only accepted coins. Dang. This must be a pretty old machine, and it meant I actually had to talk to the guy and I was pretty sure there were cameras over there that could recognise me. It was either this or no call, so I sucked it up and went over to the guy.

"Hi, could you change this into coins?" I asked quietly, pushing the note over to him.

He looked up and nodded. For the twenty seconds it took him to change the note into coins, I anxiously fiddled with my hands, keeping my head down. Then he handed me the coins and with a hurried 'thanks' I collected them all and scurried over to the payphone.

I slipped four coins in, hoping that would be long enough. I carefully pressed the numbers in that I had had memorised since I was five because; "New York is a big place Miles, you could get lost and if you remember this number we can come get you sooner."

I took a deep breath and listened to the whirr as it was connected to the phone on the other end. Then it began to ring. I bit my lip as butterflies exploded in my stomach. What if they didn't pick up? I could just leave another message and say I wasn't that far from New York. Maybe they were busy? It was a Tuesday after all. They could think that it was just some random phone call. But maybe after the last time I had called they knew now that any call could potentially be from me.

The rings were nearly out and as much as I wanted to hear one of their voices I wasn't going to try a second time. I was feeling anxious just walking around out here, especially because it wasn't absolutely required. My chances of getting caught were way too high for me to be anything butanxious. I hated that I was this way, and that logic told me not to try again.

I crossed my fingers, please pick up.

Ring-

"Hello? This is Rio Morales speaking."

I inhaled sharply, I couldn't believe she had actually picked up. Tears welled up in my eyes and I wiped them away as quickly as they had appeared. "Um, hi, uh. It's me, Miles."

Great job Miles, the first thing she hears of your voice in nearly a month is an 'um.' So smart.

"Miles? Oh my god, Miles! Are you okay? Are you hurt? We've been worried sick! Where are you?"

"I'm, uh, in Washington. I'm okay, I'm hurt but I'm... getting better. I'm coming home soon." I answered, suppressing a hiccup or sob. How much could I tell her? I didn't know. Hydra could easily be listening on the other side. It would be smart of them to track any calls that went into their phones. But just to hear her voice…

"I-… I can come get you now. It's not that long of a drive-"

"No! Don't!" I barged in, voice rising a tad bit to higher than I would have liked. I cringed in on myself. "Just… the people who got me… they're really bad people. They know who I am and where we live. If I come home, well, they might hurt you." There was a pause on the other end. Shock, probably. I quickly filled in the silence. 'I'm okay, I promise. I'll be coming home soon but I need to go grab some people to help. SHIELD probably. I want to come home, but I can't. They'll kill me if they catch me again."

"Miles…" she whispered. "What have you gotten yourself caught up in?"

I hung my head, even though she couldn't see it. My voice dropped to a whisper. "It's big. I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be ashamed for. Your Dad and I… we thought you had run away until you called Ganke. The police were almost ready to give up looking... Please be careful."

The phone beeped a few times, letting me know the time was nearly up. I closed my eyes, which allowed a tear to run down my face. I had talked to Mum, she knew I was okay but I still couldn't come home. I had the nagging thought that if I stayed on this call any longer I wouldn't have enough time to get away. Considering how fast they had reached me not two days ago it was a reasonable assumption.

"I have to go Mum. I'll be home as soon as I can. I'll…" I realised in that moment that it would be difficult to explain where I had been without revealing myself. I also realised that I was sick of the lies, of hiding my injuries and my worries. I would tell them. "I'll tell you everything when I get back. Stay safe and be careful. I love you."

"I love you too Miles, so does your Dad. I miss you."

Before I could add anything else, the phone line went dead. I leaned my head against the wall. I realized that a tear was dripping down my nose. I quickly wiped it away. I would stop Hydra before they could hurt anyone I cared about. Only then could I well and truly relax. I was only one human, but if Hydra thought I was so valuable as to chase me across the world surely I could help take them down.

I sniffed and wiped the last tear away. I wanted to get home so badly, and I would.

I would even if it nearly killed me.


	21. Chapter 21

"So here's your ticket. Are you sure you're okay from here?" Brad asked for the third time.

We were standing in front of the train station, him in a coat and jeans and me in my long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants that conveniently hid my spider-man costume. My mask was hidden in my pocket, ready for me to pull out at a moments notice.

Thankfully with Brad's care and me allowing it time to heal my leg had healed over and even though the muscles felt a bit weak I could ignore it and do all the Spidey's things I needed to do.

"Yeah I'm fine, I've got everything I need on me. What's the worst that could happen?" He gave me a look that said 'really?' "Okay, a lot of things but nothing is likely to go wrong. Sort of. But yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks for looking after me. I mean it."

They shrugged, "It's not every day you get to house a superhero. You better go before you miss your train."

I glanced at the train station. "Probably." Before I could change my mind, I gave them a hug and they stiffened in surprise before melting into the hug.

I stepped back and turned around, giving them a wave as I walked towards my platform. It was what, three to four hours until I get to New York? I had been cramped on that plane a lot longer. This should be easy enough. This time I could even sit like a normal human!

Maybe I could sleep? Or stare out the window and watch the trees, aka tall buildings, pass by. Or... imagine something? Okay, so there wouldn't be much to do on the train. And I didn't want to sleep past my station. And I would probably be worried about every tiny little thing. Why did I have to be this way? I needed therapy.

I looked up and down the platform and noticed that there were about twenty or so people here. I shuffled down to a quieter section of the platform, feeling wary that someone could recognise me and alert the authorities. No one had given me a second look yet, but it didn't help the anxious feeling in my stomach tighten.

Yep, this was all going to be fine.

* * *

I placed my bag in front of my legs, settling down in my seat just as the train jolted and began to move. I looked out the window, half of me expecting guns or hydra or something sinister. Which really was stupid. Of all the things, now when I was already on the train they would start shooting was stupid. I didn't think they would try to bring too much attention to me either. If anything someone would come up from behind me and try to knock me unconscious with some drug.

Actually, I should stop thinking about that. I wouldn't be helping myself any by stressing about it. I closed my eyes and sunk down into the seat.

The train began to gain pace and the suburbs began racing past me. I had to work on my paranoia. I mean, if I was actually really going to go to the big leagues, aka the Ultimates, for help they would probably want me to not jump at every bang. I had to get a handle on my mind.

So, step one, get through this train ride and get off safely at the other end. I was really glad that this way a one-way journey and it wouldn't be stopping. That would have made me stress even more with all the people getting on and off. Step two, get into my spidey outfit and… well, I wasn't sure if I should swing through the streets or not. Obviously, people will take notice and video me and Hydra would know where I was but New York was still a relatively big place and I knew it like the back of my hand. I had the home field advantage and I probably knew the backstreets better than most people. Also! The Ultimates might see me and come check on me.

It helped that I knew now that if I was being shot at investigating wasn't the right choice. I wouldn't be that dumb again.

Actually, okay it might be a bit hopeful for me to think the Ultimates would help me, they hadn't been there when I was getting kidnapped. Or in Washington, when clearly someone would have called going 'there's a bunch of people around with guns.' Okay, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt then because there was no way to get to me in time to get me to safety, but it was never on the news or anywhere about people with guns just walking around the streets. It's America, but still!

And! It would have been just another Tuesday for them, but if someone from SHIELD had at any point helped me it would have made my life so much easier. And I wouldn't need therapy quite as much.

Point is, I might deal with street-level criminals, mostly, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to help in big battles! As soon as there is one I'm going to be right up there next to Spider-woman and Iron Man and it would be awesome but there hadn't been any alien invasions yet. Not that I was really complaining, cause those caused a lot of destruction but I needed to prove myself to the Ultimates some way and that was the best way. I could even save one of them from certain death and then they would probably, definitely take me seriously. Maybe.

Imagine if I go into the big leagues just as the world goes into a long stretch of peace. That would suck. Okay, not suck cause that was everything that us heroes worked for… Ugh, you got the point.

And now I was overthinking, great. Just… focus on the outside world. I mean, instead of being stuck in my thoughts I can look at where all the places Hydra could be ready to snipe me from. That'll kind of keep me out of my head?

Who was I kidding? I only got out of my head when I was studying… or fighting.

Okay, maybe instead of resorting to making myself paranoid I'll sleep for a little bit. Worst case I oversleep but someone will probably wake me up at the end. Maybe. Oh whatever, it'll be fine.

* * *

"Please collect all personal belongings and prepare to get off at Central Station." A metallic voice said over the loudspeakers, which woke me up from my nap. I groggily opened my eyes, wondering for a moment what the heck was going on, which way was up and down, and what the meaning of life was.

Sitting up properly (and silently thanking my spidey powers cause if I was normal my neck would be sore from the angle it had been in), I looked around the train. I saw one or two other people stirring awake, but most were packing up laptops or staring out the window. I looked out the window. How beautiful the scenery was, with the walls of concrete stretching out seemingly endlessly. Ah, New York, gotta love ya.

A few short minutes later the announcer said that we had arrived and the train pulled to a grinding halt. This was it, I was home.

Wait, holy crap I was home.

I stood up and walked towards the train doors. I was actually home again. After over a month even the parts of New York I would normally think of as ugly were beautiful. That really showed me how much I had missed this place. Even better was that I could now finally go home and see my parents again and return to something resembling a normal life. I was actually home, I could go and see my parents again, I could return to a kind of not really normal life… Wait, I still had to get to the Ultimates and Fury. Never mind I was probably going to be held up for another week or something while they figure out everything. So maybe after a week, I would be lucky enough to go home.

I stepped out of the train and considered kissing the ground, but decided against it because ew way too many walked over this ground every day. I'll just… punch a bad guy or something to celebrate. That'll work.

As I walked onto the busy streets of New York, I breathed in a large breath of polluted air. Yep, definitely home.

I walked along searching for an alleyway I could use. I found one not too far away from Grand Central and I ducked into it. Keeping a wary eye out for onlookers, I turned invisible before climbing up the side of a building. Better safe than someone freaking out because they thought I was a demon or realising I was Spider-man.

I reached the top and ducked behind a vent and I looked around for a moment, just to check that there was definitely no one around. Okay, here we go.

I slipped off my clothes, revealing my Spidey suit underneath. I made sure my gloves were on properly before I shoved all my clothes into a cover and covered them in webbing. I would come back for them eventually. Maybe. It wasn't practical for me to carry those clothes around so I just had to make due. I could donate them to someone who needed them more than me anyway. It would make me feel better about borrowing them permanently from Brad.

I tugged my mask on, fiddling with it for a few seconds to make sure I could see perfectly and it looked cool. I peeked my head out from behind the vent one more time before I clicked my web shooters into place. I was pretty sure I had at least half of the webbing left because I hadn't been able to use them all that much. That meant I could use them if I needed to, especially now that I was nearly home.

Should I even go web-slinging, though? Hydra could notice me fairly easily if I was. But, even if I didn't people could look up and see me jumping between buildings. If I did use my webs SHIELD could see me sooner, but they might not think they had to come and get me. Who knew. But if I didn't use my webs it might take longer for me to be noticed but if I did get attacked they might not think I still have them and that could be my element of surprise.

They would come for me on a rooftop and I would be like, 'not today,' and just jump off the side of the building. In Manhattan, it would be even better 'cause it would be way too hard for someone to keep up with me on buildings that high.

I peeked my head out one more time, still no one. I double checked my web shooters and suit and with that all checked out I went to the edge of the building.

This was it. I was in my suit and I was about to go web-slinging. Hydra might come after me but if I was smart enough the Ultimates or SHIELD would notice and help me. I wasn't helpless either, I had superpowers for goodness sake. I had the proportional strength of a spider or something, so I was stronger than a normal human for sure. And I could reach more surfaces than nearly anyone else. I could do this. I had nothing but my life to lose.

I looked down, this building was about twenty stories high, which wasn't too bad. It wasn't. But after so long without web swinging or being too high up (besides when I was up in the aeroplane but I didn't think that counted) it was almost as daunting as the first time I had done it. I couldn't help but worry a little bit that I might have forgotten some important things about web swinging. That wasn't likely but there was always the chance my cool come back to New York might end with me going splat.

Didn't I use to have a fear of heights?

My spider-sense softly pinged, not in a way that made me think I had to look out for something dangerous but in a way that told me someone was looking at me, and when I looked below me I spotted someone pointing me out to their friend beside me. Well, probably friend, I was just guessing. Holy crap don't panic, I'm totally not panicking, I was a normal superhero who could handle this sort of stuff-

Before I could think about it, I gave them a small salute and stepped off the ledge. I rapidly fell towards the ground. This was it, webshooters don't fail on me now. I thwiped a web onto a ledge a few buildings away and let my body arch into the swing, like I was on a swing (which I kind of was, just a ginormous one and I go places but basically the same concept), gravity pulling me just above the cars before momentum carried me high into the air.

" **Woohoo**!" I whooped, not caring for a few moments if anyone saw me. I was home! I was swinging through the air and I felt almost invincible. My spider-sense pinged as people looked up at me, I even saw a few people bring out their phones. I couldn't bring myself to panic over it when my adrenaline was pumping. And I was home, I was swinging as free as a Spider (man) could, and I could see a normal life somewhere in the future.

I thwiped another web forward and as I reached the top of my swing I let go of the web and did a backflip. I was as free as a pigeon who had just been set free! That was a bad example but, whatever. I was free!

Anyway, back to the task at hand. So where was I… 42nd if I was correct, so that meant if I just kept on going forward I would be near the triskelion in… five to ten minutes? Not too bad. It would make it quicker and easier for them to collect me the closer I was to them. But if Hydra were coming for me then I would need to be sneakier than that.

I pulled myself towards a building and gripped the side. I let go of the web I had been holding and let it fall to the ground. Standing up as if I wasn't a hundred meters above the ground, I looked around trying to think of the best way to quickly but quietly get to the Triskelion. Probably a zig-zag pattern would be best, and then straight, then zig zag. That way I wouldn't be entirely predictable.

Hmm… That would probably be- Spider-sense!

I let go of the side of the skyscraper and let myself fall several stories, turning in mid-air to look up. A human-shaped thing was following me down, but I couldn't see what they looked like because of the glare of the sun. I looked to the side, realising I was too far away to reach out and stop myself so I looked the other way and thwiped a web to the building opposite, sharply pulling it to get me there as quickly as possible.

By the time I was there and had crouched down, ready to run or fight, my attacker had dragged themselves to a stop on the building I had just been on. They crouched down and in one smooth movement jumped over on to the building I was on. We were on the same level, literally. We were standing on the same level of this building.

I stood up, well stood sideways, and thanked the lucky stars that I had a mask on because holy crap this was terrifying. They stood sideways too, looking straight at me (I think, they had something covering their face) which gave me the chance to get a good look at them.

They had stolen my costume! The only thing they changed was that the lenses were completely red- terrifying, by the way- and they had red soles.

"I'm suing, you can't just steal a supers costume design!" I yelled, shaking my fist in mock anger. Mock, because holy crap this was probably a clone of me and I thought I had slowed down any progress they could make on me. Apparently not, 'cause here was another human (clone? I should say clone instead of human cause maybe they were being mind controlled and weren't quite aware or something. I don't know, I'm not the expert) who was sticking to the side of a building. That was my shtick! Well, it is now my shtick, the other guy is dead. Wait there was still Spider-woman. The point still stands.

"If you come willingly and quietly Hydra won't kill you. This is your last chance." The clone said in an airy tone. Wait, was that what I sounded like? Ugh, I sounded like a twelve-year-old with a voice crack. I was a teenager, damn it!

"You know," I crouched down in a defensive pose, "No thanks, Hydra is evil and I'm just an everyday spider trying to stop crime and get on with my life."

They sighed, "Don't say I didn't warn you, I was hoping we could even be buddies but nope, you just have to go and ruin everything. How rude."

As they pressed a finger to their ear and started murmuring something, and it was pretty obvious to me they were talking to someone in Hydra, I groaned. "What if you become good, we're what, 99% the same person probably? Stopping petty crime is pretty fun and have you ever punched something in the face? I do it all the time. C'mon."

They finally looked back at me, "What?"

"Did you not hear a single thing I said? I just gave a mini-speech about how we're the same person because I'm guessing you're a clone and how the good side is good."

They paused, either thinking, rolling their eyes or wondering what I was babbling about. I couldn't tell because, y'know, mask. Then they shrugged, "I'm under orders, so…"

In a sudden motion, they tried to kick me, which I dodged, I tried to bring their legs out from under them, but they flipped backward. They then tried to tackle me but I leapt off of the skyscraper and sent myself swinging away as fast as I could. Fighting? Tried, two people with spider-senses (I assumed he-they... it had one 'cause they were dodging everything) trying to trick each other and get the upper hand was like a game of cat and mouse.

Flight? Well, that was something I was good at.

I noticed my spider-sense beginning to blare, my clone was probably trying to reach me and knock me out of the air. I thwiped a web onto a building and used it to pull myself out of the way. I looked back to see them following with their own webs. Oh, Sugar Honey Iced Tea this was not going to be good.

I thwiped a web to the corner of a building and pulled myself up and to the side. I flew over the building, flying straight past my clone and I rapidly began to swing as fast as I could. I finally looked back again… and realised my mistake. My clone was a few buildings behind me, which meant I had made some distance on them but I was heading the opposite way to the Triskelion.

I groaned aloud and thwiped a web back the other way. I ignored the jolt of pain my shoulders felt at the sudden change in direction and pulled myself along, trying to get a lead on my clone again. But I was too slow and I felt something latch on to my leg followed by a weight trying to drag me down.

As if it couldn't get worse, my spider-sense went off in a shrill alarm and I was forced to let go of my web and fall to narrowly avoid getting shot by something. I looked down, here comes Hydra in the form of people in vans shooting at me. Fudgenuggets.

I looked down as I fell, but I was too late to stop my clone as they thwiped a web and pulled themselves into the air. I yelped in surprise, being forced upside down. Holy crap, what do I do? I tried to thwip a web to a building but my webbing was too short to reach it in time. Oh no, oh no, oh please no.

My spider-sense went off in alarm and one moment I was being dragged through the air by my clone and the next I was hitting a window hard enough to see stars. I latched on instinctually and not even my clone tugging it as hard as they could was able to get me to let go. Instead, their own momentum sent them hurtling back and they smacked into a window a few stories down.

Even dazed and trying to blink out the black spots in my vision, I laughed so hard I had to clutch my stomach.

"HAhahaHAHAHAhahahaha, oh my god… oh my HAHAHAHAHAHA, if your-your trying to haHAAA kill me from laughter your hehehe, it's working."

"Shut up," I heard them grumble beneath me, "I thought that could knock you out."

I reached down and grabbed the web latched on to my foot. I easily ripped it in two but while I was distracted my clone moved faster than I could react to and slammed a fist into my face. That would bruise. I went to protect my face and they used that as an opening to punch me right in the gut. I tried to kick out but they grabbed my leg and began to twist it.

I cried out in pain but refused to give up. I punched them square in the jaw and they lost their grip on me. I kicked them off of me and while they fell to the ground I jumped up into the air and thwiped a web to the corner of a building.

I used all my strength to steer myself around and up, maybe there wasn't any Hydra on this street? Maybe while the clone was distracted they wouldn't know which way I went. Either way, this was the best I could do for now.

I webbed myself along as fast as I could, I had to get to the Triskelion as quickly as possible. I wasn't in the mood to face a dozen to a hundred guards and the clone on top of that. Maybe they would send more clones after me. I don't think I could face more of me. I landed on the window of one of the skyscrapers several streets away from where I began. I rapidly climbed up its side till I reached the roof.

I climbed over the railing, staggering over to a vent where I finally allowed myself to sit down. My breaths were coming in short gasps, my spider-suit sticking to me from sweat. Okay, what the fudge am I supposed to do?

I still had a battle to fight, I couldn't just let those Hydra goons run wild. They could hurt someone while trying to get my attention or something. I sighed and stood up, peering over the edge. And there was the clone… climbing up the side. Great. This was just awesome. Well, at least I bought myself about thirty seconds to rest.

Should I fight them and take them down so it would be easier to get to the Triskelion or should I try and book it over there? Ugh, it would have been simpler if the Ultimates were here, why couldn't they do their job and take out the goons and help me?

I backed away from the rails, crouching down and getting ready to fight. Hydra was probably waiting for me to leave this rooftop but if I was to have any chance I had to take down the clone first. No, not kill them, just web them in a huge, thick cocoon so big and strong that even my spider-strength couldn't set them free. Oh boy, that was going to be a whole cartridge of web pretty much wasted.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, alright, I could do this. On three I'll jump down there and surprise them. One… Two…

I heard a whooshing sound, a thump, and the loud but muffled sounds of protests. I nervously crept forward, because who knew what it is was? It could be another villain that wanted to get in on the action or maybe the clone and Hydra was trying to get me off the roof or-

I heard a thump behind me and I whipped around so fast my neck protested.

And there stood Captain America in all his patriotic glory.

"Would you like to explain what's going on?"


	22. Chapter 22

Holy crap, Captain America was standing in front of me demanding to know what was going on like I had done something wrong.

Which I hadn't, by the way. Unless you count sneaking on a plane, which had frankly been unavoidable. I was just confused as to whether to be offended by Captain America thinking I had caused this or relieved that the Ultimates were finally here. Or annoyed that they hadn't turned up at any other point over the course of this month and a half when arguably I had needed them a lot more.

"Uh, um, hi Captain America, uh, it's kind of a long story…" I began, rubbing the back of my neck nervously but refusing to take a step back. I was a superhero too, I shouldn't be quite this awestruck and intimidated by him.

A whirring sound interrupted me from continuing my story. I turned around to look… and there was Iron Man with my clone, holding him bridal style, hovering in the air. "Hey Capsicle, are you sure that's the actual Spider-man? I think we have another clone thing on our hands."

I piped up, trying to keep most of my sarcasm to myself, "You'd probably be right."

There were several more thumps and I looked back to see Black Widow, Hawkeye Hulk and Spider-woman standing there. "All the Hydra goons are taken care of," Black Widow said, crossing her arms.

My clone struggled in Iron Man's grip. "Let go of me!" they yelled. I realised that they weren't putting their super strength to any use because it would be easy to get out that way.

"Not happening." Iron Man replied, his smugness obvious. Turning to the other Ultimates and me he said, "So which one of you is not the clone?"

"I'm the real one!" Both of us shouted at the same time. I looked over at my clone and glared, are you kidding me? "You attacked me first! Would an actual superhero do that?"

"Oh come on! An actual superhero would get rid of their clones."

"You're kidding me, right? We both know you're the clone. You're just trying to get them to get rid of me or whatever." Turning to the Ultimates I said, "His costume isn't even right! I don't have red lenses or red soles. His costume doesn't have any signs of wear either."

"I… I had to make a new one. My other one was too torn?" Yep, as soon as the voice faltered it was obvious who the real one was. I mean, I already knew but that wasn't exactly relevant. Also, I did have a tear in my own costume, which I knew everyone had glanced over at.

"Liar, liar pants on fire, when you're on the run you don't have any time to make a new costume," I said matter-of-factly, crossing my arms.

"Well, you've been gone from New York for a month or something! Who knows what you were doing during that time!?"

"I was doing a lot of walking, hiding and panicking. That's what I was doing." I said. The Ultimates gave me looks of concern, bemusement, and confusion. Black Widow stayed blank.

"We need to get you both back to the Triskelion," Spider-woman said, interrupting the awkward silence. She glanced between me and the clone. "Fury will probably be interested in this."

And that's how I ended up in a cell. It almost made me feel like I had done something wrong, which wasn't really true but kind of was. The cell I was in was the exact same one I had been in when I first came to the Triskelion. I could swear on it, because I had spotted the same patch of grime in the corner that I had seen the first time round. Which was disgusting.

My clone was in the one opposite to me, curled up on the bed. They had pressed themselves right into the corner with their head buried in their knees. Their mask was still on so I couldn't see their expression. It made me understand why some people freaked out or hated me, because not knowing whether or not someone was silently plotting to kill you or in their happy place was a bit scary. I mean, I wasn't sure if they would be like me and most thoughts would be non-stop screaming or had been changed cause of Hydra. A flip of a coin basically. The fight didn't really help me determine that fact either.

Only the two of us were in this group of cells, and there were no guards around to interrupt us.

I didn't mind waiting here in this cell until they had decided to do something with us. I was patient enough to wait. Mostly I was just happy that finally, the Ultimates had turned up to help. I mean, seriously, there were Hydra goons in the streets in Washington and they did nothing? Well, I'm pretty sure they did nothing because there had been no headlines about them being in Washington. I would think that would be reported.

But that didn't matter now. I would be home soon enough. I just had to deal with my clone first. I looked at them, they hadn't moved.

"What's it like being a clone?" I asked abruptly.

They looked up at me, "What?"

"Being a clone, what's it like? Do you have all my memories? Or did Hydra get rid of them all? Are you being mind controlled or…? Did they mess with your DNA? Are you missing any body parts? Are you secretly a sociopath? Did they make girl clones? I'm curious."

They paused, looking back down at their knees. "No, I'm not being mind controlled. Remember when you had your blood taken back in the Hydra base? I can remember everything up until then. Except… everything is more like a movie. You know when you watch a movie and you understand what a character is feeling but you're not completely immersed? That's kind of what it's like. So, for example, I'm not… attached to Mum and Dad? I know who they are and how I felt about them – how you feel about them – I just don't have those emotions myself. So maybe I'm a sociopath. Who knows? And I don't know if there are any female clones. Probably."

I frowned, "Are you supposed to be saying this much?" I had been expecting a flippant remark and being ignored, not being told all of their life story. Literally, they had only been alive for a few weeks I was guessing.

"Probably not, but I'm expendable. One of the Hydra goons will probably kill me within the week. It's what they said would happen anyway." They shrugged, seemingly unfazed by how dark that was.

Lost for words, my mouth openly gaped. They looked up and sighed, "Are you trying to catch flies?"

I looked down, trying not to be completely and utterly rude. Mama always said to be nice to strangers. That was in a southern Texas accent if you hadn't already guessed. My actual mum had never said that as far as I remembered.

I looked back up at my clone. They still had their mask on. If they had all my memories then they knew it was fine to have my mask off. I frowned and asked them, "Why haven't you taken your mask off yet?"

"No point," they shrugged. Then they added in a quieter voice that I wouldn't have picked up on if I wasn't enhanced, "and it'll freak you out."

I stood up, going to the shield thing blocking me from leaving. I didn't touch it because I didn't know if that would set off an alarm, electrocute me… or be like a brick wall and I didn't want to find out. "Freak me out? Okay, now I have to see."

They stood up, going over to the shield as well. They grabbed the hem of the mask, taking a deep breath before taking it off in one fluid motion. Now their face was out in the open and… oh, my god. That explains why they wanted to keep the mask on.

"I knew my voice wasn't that squeaky!" I exclaimed. They were shorter than me, I realised at that moment. You normally couldn't tell small height differences in a height because you were busy trying not to die. Their face was rounder and softer looking than mine. The clone also didn't have any crease lines on their forehead or cheeks. I guess that was understandable considering they hadn't had time to frown as much as I had over the years. "…Wait, why do you look a few years younger than me?"

"I have an accelerated growth. By this time next week, I'll be… like twenty years old? Well, I'll look it. I'll only technically be a few weeks old but you get it. You would because you're me, but better after all?" My clone grinned in a self-deprecating way.

"Right…" I couldn't help but feel unsettled about how laid back they were about dying, I guess you would have to just accept it but it was still pretty messed up. I stepped back from the shield, having a hard time thinking of something to say to fill in the awkward silence. What could you say to someone who knew they were going to die either because of Hydra or old age? Hydra wasn't trying to give any of the clones a chance to revolt against them I was guessing. If they had longer to live they could actually plan something, but since they don't... they couldn't.

If they were going to look twenty in the span of two weeks, they would be a hundred in… two months? They would probably be dead before then if Hydra was going to make them this expendable.

Before I could speak up about how messed up Hydra was and how unhealthy that mindset was (I know I'm a total hypocrite. My mind was really messed up to the point that I needed therapy, but I could probably, maybe talk them away from being that casual about their own death), a door opened and in walked Fury in all his eye-patch wielding, terrifying, awe-inducing awesomeness walked in.

Yes, I did, in fact, think Fury is cool. But! I also had a healthy terror for the man, as any person should. Sue me for admiring the man for making his coat whip out behind him whenever he walked as if he was Darth Vader. But a cool Darth Vader? Yeah.

"Which one of you is the real Miles?" He asked, looking between the two of us with his one eye. I put my hand up and my clone pointed at me.

"Come with me, we have some questions to ask you. Clone, someone will come in shortly to ask you some questions. Whether you comply or not is up to you, but I advise you help." He stated.

My cell… shield thing opened and I immediately hastened my footsteps to catch up with Fury. You do not stop and pause when he gives an order, you more or less sprint to do it. That may be because of my terror/awe of him but that doesn't really matter anyway. I reached his side and he didn't even glance at me.

We walked through corridor after corridor, until finally Fury stopped and entered a very quiet room with only two chairs and a table in it. I looked into the corners and spotted some cameras. Very intimidating.

I guessed this was probably going to be about where I've been, which was good because I had some complaints to make. Some big ones too. Like how they haven't helped me, at all.

"Take a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair on the furthest side of the room. I quickly did just that. I relaxed, leaning back and folding my arms. Let's see where this goes.

"You went missing September 12th at approximately two am, last seen in an alleyway by a woman who claimed you had been drugged. She said that you had told her Hydra was the one who had done that to you. You've been gone for fifty-two days. What has happened during this time?" Fury said. His eyes were piercing and I couldn't help but swallow nervously.

"Uh, from the start?" Fury nodded. "Well, Hydra goons went after me that night and managed to take me down by drugging me. Next thing I remember is waking up tied down to a table. Over a month, they tested all my powers and trained me up. Basically, they wanted my powers and soldiers with said powers. Which is why we have my clone, I'm pretty sure."

"But you escaped, I'm assuming?" Fury probed.

"Oh yeah, I got out of there as soon as I could. By the way, if you knew I was in there why didn't you just come get me?" I asked, leaning back and give him my best unamused face that I could.

An honestly confused look came over his face. "What?"

"You gave me the blueprints? I think? I used it to get out of there? Sort of there were some inaccuracies... I wouldn't think they would give me a way to get out. They had guards everywhere too..." I frowned.

"If I had known, I would have sent the Ultimates. We try and take out every damn Hydra base we find out about. If I had an agent with blueprints they would have immediately sent it to us." Fury growled.

"Well…" I grasped for words, trying to come up with a possible explanation for what had happened. I knew that without the blueprints I wouldn't have gotten out of there. I wouldn't have been able to destroy all the computer servers. In the long run, I guess it only delayed the inevitable, but that still gave me time. I wouldn't have escaped in Washington if the clones had been there.

And then I remembered something. Something very important that put things into perspective.

"Maybe it was another test Hydra was giving me... I think they wanted a good excuse to kill me, or maybe a way to test how skilful I was under stress." Fury's eyes sharpened at that. I quickly went on to explain, "When I first got there they said that if I tried to escape they would kill me. When I escaped they had done every test that wasn't lethal to me. When boot lady was talking to me about how I had to join Hydra, she said that if I refused they would use more... extreme measures. I think they either wanted the chance to kill me, but with my clones maybe they would have done lethal tests on them, or brainwash me to fight for them. I rejected, then agreed just to go along with it, and that's when I escaped."

Fury's expression hardened. He looked away for a moment before looking back at me. "So you escaped… how long were you in the Hydra base?"

"A little under a month."

"What happened after that?"

"Well, I was escaping the Hydra base on a bike and they were following me in cars shooting at me and I knew I wouldn't be able to get away when they got a helicopter out so I went into this river and stayed under for as long as I could. But a few minutes in my spider-sense went off but I didn't know what it was and ended up pretty much breaking my wrist against a boulder." I absently rubbed my wrist, and I saw him give it a searching look as I continued. "I got really tired so I held on to a log and passed out.

"I ended up getting out after one of their boats passed by me and ended up in a Wakandan city. Do you know how advanced all their technology is?"

"Yes. How long were you floating in the river?"

"Um, maybe up to five hours? I'm not really sure." Sleeping for a while really threw a wrench into my sense of time.

"Alright, continue."

"Right. Um, so when I got in there was this nice lady who helped fix up my arm a little bit. I spent about a week there before I got on a plane for Washington. I may have hidden in the overhead luggage, and let me tell you, eighteen hours is way too long for a flight. Useful to me but so boring."

"Do you know what date you were on that plane?" He interrupted.

"Um, it would have been ten-ish days ago now. Why?" I asked.

"We're going to try and backtrack your path so we can take down the Hydra base. Continue with your story."

"Right, uh, plane. So this flight attendant discovered me as I tried to sneak off the plane and she ended up helping me get out of the airport without anyone noticing. Got all the way to her place and I had a nice warm meal. But, turns out she was a part of Hydra and thought that they would help me get the rest of the way home so that led to Hydra coming after me. I'm not really sure when it happened but I got shot here."

I brought my leg out so he could see the hole in my suit and the scar that was healing up. He frowned.

"Anyway, I managed to escape by ducking into this store and hiding. There was a girl working there and I freaked out and ended up passing out. Turns out she knew someone studying to be a doctor so they got me out of there and I stayed with him for the ten days." He nodded. "He was nice enough to give me a ticket to Grand Central and when I got here I decided to go swinging around so hopefully, you guys would notice me and you know the rest from there.

"You managed to get in contact with your friend and your Mum." He stated more than asked.

"Uh yeah, mostly to make sure they knew I wasn't dead. I'm, uh, thinking of telling my parents about all of this." I chuckled nervously, "It'll probably be hard to come up with a cover story for all of this…"

Fury clasped his hands together and put them in his lap, leaning back casually in his seat, "It won't be as hard as you think. If you want to keep your identity a secret to them we have options." There was a glint in his eyes and I couldn't tell what it meant.

"I-I know. But, they deserve to know what I was doing this past month. It's... it's not fair in them. And I'm sick of having to lie to them all the time." I said, looking down at my lap.

He nodded slowly, paused for a few seconds then asked me, "How are you, Miles?"

I straightened back up and looked at Fury. I couldn't tell what he was thinking by his expression. That wasn't unusual but I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say. He probably meant my injuries anyway…

"Besides from when I was escaping its mostly being bruises. Oh, and I also got electrocuted in Washington. I've also lost a lot of sleep but in our job, that's pretty normal, right? So, pretty good considering everything." I said, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Not physically," he said, frowning, "how are you, Miles."

I chuckled lowly, "I'll probably need therapy."

Before Fury could continue his questioning, there was a knock at the door and someone walked inside. Their eyes were wide and they looked worried, maybe even alarmed. "You'll want to see this, sir." A hologram appeared on the wall to my right and I looked over. Playing were clips of the city being overrun by what looked like clones. I could tell because they were all wearing that slightly modified costume that the clone in the cell was wearing.

And there were hundreds of them, and that was only the ones that these cameras had managed to capture so far. There might even be a few thousand running rampant around New York. Oh crap. I whipped my head back to look at Fury and his face was blank.

"Assemble the Ultimates." He ordered.

"Already being done, sir." The person said. Fury waved his hands in a dismissal.

Fury closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Finally, he opened them and looked at me. "Ready to join the Ultimates?" He asked.


	23. Chapter 23

I held up my slightly modified suit in front of the mirror.

I mean, it would work but oh god the design… it was okay but it was something I would need to get used to. At least it was only for the short-term. Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, aka a really rich person, had given me a new costume that didn't have tears and generally didn't look like it had come out of the garbage, where it had been run over by a herd of elephants and then cats played with it. It had been dusty, dirty and ripped up so I was more than glad that I had one to replace it.

At some point in my adventure, the web lines had started coming out and stopped matching up smoothly. There had been more rips than I had gotten in the entirety of my career as a superhero, which wasn't too surprising considering that I had been wearing it non-stop for nearly a month through action-packed fights and terrain. Really I was just glad it had held together for so long.

The biggest and main difference was that it was made out of some fancy material that supposedly could block a bullet from ten meters away, yet still remained flexible enough for me to comfortably bend. Great update, very useful if I was overwhelmed.

I shook my head, focusing. There was an invasion of my clones out there and I had to get going right now. To help. Be useful. Punch some people. Yep.

In a minute I had everything on but my mask and web shooters. I stood in front of the mirror, studying what differences I could on me. I flexed my muscles and… it was as easy to do as it was in my last costume, no change in that. Wait a minute... I was skinnier than I used to. Damn, my muscles were smaller than before.

Right, focus. I grabbed a small section of my suit and tried to rip a small section. Nothing happened.

I smiled. This suit was awesome! I would have an edge on my clones because Hydra would use as little material as they could or at the very least some cheap very tearable material. At least, I think that's what Hydra would do. I wasn't the expert. But mass producing disposable clones you wouldn't be worried about how protective their suits were. Probably.

Oh, and my suit was blue. That really was the main difference besides how durable it should now be. Where it was normally red it was a sky blue and my spider symbols were a darker blue. I also had a strip of blue around my left thigh and ankle. It was all so they wouldn't accidentally hurt me as they took down my clones. Pretty genius really.

I grabbed my web shooters, which had already gotten refills courtesy of Tony Stark, and put them on with a satisfying click. My mask went on and then I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

Okay, here we go.

I walked out of the mini changing room and hurried to the nearest elevator. I was surprised to see no one around as I made my way over. I guess it made sense, everyone was busy taking orders, giving orders and taking down clones.

Iron Man had said to go all the way to the top. From there he would let me web on to his armour and we could quickly get across the water. Sounded good enough to me, so I had agreed.

I pressed the button for the elevator, impatiently waiting for the elevator to come down to my level. When the doors finally opened I stepped inside and rapidly mashed the top floor button. C'mon! I had a pretty cool chance to prove that I'm a hero! Time is of the essence! Why wasn't the elevator quicker?

Soft, very unsuitable music for what was going on just across the water filtered through some speakers and I threw my head back and let out the longest groan I could. This was not how I imagined becoming an official-not-official member of the Ultimates to be. I thought there would be cool planes, awesome gear (okay so the new outfit with the better material was great especially for the amount of time Tony had to make it… still though) and flashy battles. Instead, I was listening to classical music in a slow elevator.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, but what was probably only forty seconds, the elevator dinged and I jogged out as quickly as I could without seeming too impatient or something. As if I hadn't been complaining moments ago.

Tony Stark was staring over New York and I curiously looked over his shoulder. I could see tiny shapes buzzing around the skyscrapers and immediately knew they were my clones. Oh, brother, there were a lot of them. This would be so much fun. Not.

I cleared my throat to get Tony's attention and he turned around. "There you are."

He threw something at me and I caught it. I turned it over, confused. It was the size of a pea, probably even smaller. "Um, what's this?"

"Communicator, so you can talk to the rest of the team in case you need backup. Or if you can't talk, or it gets smashed, it can still track you." He said, getting into his armour. It closed and locked in place in something like five seconds. I was jealous, I wish putting on the spider-suit was so easy.

"Thanks!" I said, rolling up my mask just enough for me to put it snuggly in my ear and then I quickly put it back down. This was better than anything I've had before, I don't get back up very often and being able to go 'I'm in out of my depth and I think I might die' was very useful. "Okay, I'm ready."

Iron Man propellers turned on and he hovered a few meters in the air. I wanted to grovel about how I already was short, I was still growing thank you very much, and he didn't need to prove it. I kept my lips sealed, I didn't want to seem like a whiny kid.

"Let's go underoos, those clones won't go down by themselves." He said, his armour making his voice tinny but it didn't hide the snark and amusement. I latched a web on to Iron Man's feet and braced myself for liftoff.

I gave a thumbs up and Iron Man immediately shot over the water. I yelped in surprise, tightening my grip on the web. I did **not** plan on taking a dip in the Hudson, which would be humiliating in so many ways.

Like, Iron Man will laugh, the rest of the Ultimates will be informed and also laugh, my clones will make fun of me (I would too… so that's how I know) and J Jonah Jameson would absolutely love that. The cover of the news tomorrow would be something like 'Menace takes a dip while invasion happens' or 'Iron Man fights off Spider-man!' Actually no, everything is going to be about how I'm doing evil and I had hired people to help me. No, no, it would be about how I had purposely made all these clones and was trying to take over New York.

New York came closer and closer. I could see my clones buzzing around like annoying mosquitos, everywhere and just asking for a good old slap. Multiple times. With my fist.

I narrowed my sights on one clone. They were swinging through the air and I would be upon them in… five seconds. I aimed myself and when I was ten meters or so away from them I let go of the web and shot through the air towards them

They only had time to turn around in mid-air (spider-sense, duh) before I kicked them square in the guts. I heard them wheeze and they began plummeting towards the ground. I then grabbed them by their costume and thwiped a web. We swung up into the air as they tried to get a purchase against my arm. I swung up onto a rooftop and threw them down before covering them in multiple layers of web.

"There we go. So, clone, could you stay out of the fight now?" I asked in a chipper voice that was obviously fake.

"Um, yeah, yeah that sounds pretty good." They said, with their limited room, nodding their head.

I turned around to swing into the fight, then I paused, frowned, and turned to my clone. "No protest? You have my strength, why aren't you just ripping out of the webs?"

They turned their head, "Do you know how boring it is to cause destruction with no purpose? I was this close to hitting another clone. **This** close! This gives me an excuse to stay out of it."

I blinked a few times. "What?"

"We're clones, and I know the real one hated having to use stuff in their surroundings to get the upper hand when they're fighting bad guys. So if we're them, why would we be any different? Like I've only gone for streetlights and stuff."

"Oh, uh, okay?"

"We were cloned to destroy stuff, so..."

"I'm not a clone…" I said, squaring my shoulders just a little.

"Whoa! Is that why your costumes different? I thought you were some weird upgraded version of us or a higher ranking clone. Or something, I donna know, it seemed weird you were asking all these questions when you should have known the answers."

"Yeah, the Ultimates gave me this costume so they wouldn't accidentally kill me."

"The **Ultimates**? Aw man, I wish I wasn't a clone!" They groaned throwing their head back as far as they could. I would be the same if I wasn't… me? The original? Confusing. Anyway, I still felt sorry for… them. I'll just call my clones 'them.' They weren't me, they were… separate entities. So them.

"Well, anyway, you stay there. I'm going to fight some more of them. You all good?" I asked, shuffling my feet. This was weird. I wanted out. Punching a few clones would help.

"Yeah, yeah." They said, shrugging as much as they could.

I lingered a few moments before thwipping a web and jumping off the side of the building. Okay, where was another clone? I looked up, thinking they might be there and saw several swinging around. I grumbled to myself before thwipping a web several buildings in front of them and tugging hard.

I climbed high up into the air and aimed to knock the closest one out of the air. They turned in the air and I realised that I had forgotten about the good ol' spider-sense. You know, the one that had kept me alive for this long? The first clone I faced had it, the clone just a few minutes ago had had it, so why wouldn't all the rest?

Thankfully for me and unluckily for them, I was too close for them to get out of the way. I punched them hard and while they were dazed I kicked them into the side of a building and webbed them there.

All the other clones turned around to see what all the commotion was.

"Why did you do that?"

"We're supposed to cause chaos, not punch each other!"

"Why is your uniform blue?"

I stuck myself to the next building along. The clones did too, mostly out of curiosity I assumed.

"I have a few things to say. One, not a clone, real deal, I've met the Ultimates, in blue so I don't look the rest of you and the Ultimates don't kill me. Two, Hydra is bad, why aren't you rebelling? Three... uh, hi."

It went deathly quiet. Or as quiet as it could be in New York while an invasion was taking place. I could hear something being smashed an avenue over.

"Seriously?" One whispered. I nodded.

"Huh. So, what happened after they got your blood?" One piped up.

"Lots of things. I escaped, got to Washington, Hydra attacked me and I got away and today I got on a train to New York and then all of you attacked." I said, holding down an annoyed whine. "Can we get to the part where all of you regret whatever you've destroyed and we fight together and stop the other clones?"

"But, Hydra, they'll kill us if we don't obey them." The one to my right said.

"Do you really believe they planted explosives or something in all of you? Or that they're watching every single clone to see what you're doing?" I asked, crossing my arms.

They looked at each other. I saw a few small nods pass between them before they finally turned to me.

"Rebellion it is." The one closest to me said.

"I want to join too!" I heard a quiet shout, and I assumed it was the clone I had just webbed up. I muffled a chuckle into my hand.

One gave a small salute and swung over to where they laid to help free the clone.

"What's our plan of attack?" The clone to my right piped up. I decided to call that one Bob.

"Well, I'm going in punching but if you guys want you can convince other clones to join our rebellion?" I offered.

They all nodded. I noticed the clone I had webbed up first had joined us. I was going to call that one Allen.

"Oh, rip off your Hydra badges. We don't want to accidentally hurt each other." I said, gesturing to the symbols on their suits. That was done fairly quickly. The assumption about cheap material confirmed.

"I think the only ones that won't join us are those really savage ones. You know, the newer version of clones?" Allen piped up.

"Oh yeah, those ones. They freak me out, and they're like the height of an eight-year-old." The clone straight in front of me said. I decided to call that one Noah.

"We're the height of twelve-year-olds." The one to the side of Noah said, folding his arms. He was now going to be called Mark.

"And Miles, the actual Miles," the one beside Allen said, seemingly forgetting that I was right there, "is thirteen…? Fourteen? Wait, what's the date." The question went unanswered when I interrupted the conversation.

"Instead of talking, we should probably get going," I said. Then I remembered I wasn't on my own and I should probably inform the Ultimates not to murder my new friends. "Actually, give me one moment, I need to call the Ultimates and let them know about you guys."

I pressed a hand to my ear where I knew my communicator was. "Spider-man here, I've made some clone friends so please don't kill them. They've ripped off there Hydra symbols if that helps."

"Copy that," I recognised Captain America say.

"And there are these smaller deadlier clones that have no emotions or something."

"Good job, kid," Tony said. I smiled.

I turned to the others, "You ready to kick butt?"

"Yeah!"

"Are you ready to try not to die?!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's go!" I said, backflipping into the air just because I could (and to prove I was the far superior Spider-man) before thwipping a web. I travelled through the air, hearing the sounds of whooping and yelling following from behind.

I found it so much easier from there to take down clones. We would scout out some and web them up or pin them down while we convinced them to join our side. I was thankful that we hadn't come across any of the deadlier clones yet. I wasn't sure if I was ready to handle them quite yet. From what the clones had told me they were a bit faster and had no emotions so they would try and kill me, and or knock me out and take me to Hydra.

Eventually one of the newly reformed clones mentioned that there was a teleporter where the majority of the clones were coming from. My group of thirty to forty clones followed hot on my heels as we swung towards the sight of the teleporter. This would be interesting.

There were a group of clones almost as big as ours guarding the teleporter. I braced myself as I realised that I had finally come across some tiny clones.

No time to hesitate, and no time like the present. I lead the charge and targeted the clone closest to me.

I sent a web-line that attached to their chest and pulled hard. The clone had prepared itself for that and had stuck to the ground, but I used that to my advantage as I used the momentum from using them as a pole to kick it in the face. It staggered and I used that moment to pin it to the ground with one arm and cocoon it in a very thick layer of webbing in the other. They struggled but they couldn't move an inch.

I turned around and saw fights breaking out everywhere. I couldn't tell which side was winning, so I didn't bother to figure it out. I swerved around fighting clones while I raced towards the teleporter. I had to shut it down, otherwise, we could be overwhelmed and killed. Or maybe they would just capture me and use me for more experiments. I shuddered just thinking about it.

I reached the teleporter just as a clone appeared out of it. I roundhouse kicked it in the face and it fell to the ground. Unfortunately, it recovered quickly. It got back up and swung at me. I ducked down, out of the way of the punch aimed at my face, but it had used that to its advantage and elbowed my back. Hard. I fell to the ground and it jumped on me, grabbing my arm and twisting it into a lock.

I mentally cursed myself, this clone was half my size! How wasn't I beating it?! Then I realised there was something I could do. I used a good portion of my strength and flexibility to kick it square in the back. It went flying over my head and knocked into a clone that was on my side. That clone seemed to be on my side cause they began to fight it.

I scrambled up and went back to looking at the teleporter. It looked like a tank, except the barrel was bent in the middle where clones popped out. It also didn't seem to have any way to get inside it, so I figured that the controls were probably somewhere on the outside. I ran to the other side where I found a flap. I yanked it open and immediately realised that I was out of my depth in this compartment. There wasn't a clear off button and I couldn't for the life of me figure out which button does what. I decided against smashing anything, because who knew how stable it was? It could be a ticking time bomb for all I knew. That would be bad for everyone.

I pressed the button on my communicator, "Iron Man? I kind of need your expertise. They have portals they're using to get the clones into New York and I have the… switches and buttons in front of me but I can't figure out heads or tails of it."

"Don't break anything, kid. They're highly unstable and are already ticking time bombs." Knew it. "Don't do anything till I get there." His tinny voice replied. I closed my eyes and sighed, I had a bad feeling in my gut, but my spider-sense wasn't yet going off about the teleporter. Just as I thought that my spider-sense went off and I whirled around just as a clone tried to kick me into the teleporter, maybe hoping to knock me out. I flipped over the leg and before I had landed again I tried to kick i. It grabbed my leg and threw me to the ground a few meters away.

I groaned. Fighting clones was beyond annoying. It was frustrating and humiliating. I got back up and went in for a punch, which of course it dodged, and at that moment I sent them flying with a quick kick to the guts. They went flying backwards. Before I could try and restrain them another clone from behind me tried to kick me. I stepped out of the way, and then grabbed them by their suit and punched them. They groaned, and I used their moment of weakness to throw them to the ground. They latched on to my costume at the last second and only succeeded in tearing a small part of. I webbed them up tight.

At least I could ask S.H.I.E.L.D for another costume after this was over.

I stood back up, brushing myself off. I was surprised all I had received so far was a few cuts and bruises. It either said I was getting better or these clones weren't very good at fighting. I couldn't tell if the last one was an insult to myself or not.

I looked around for the clone I had been fighting but they were no longer on the ground. I then surveyed the overall fight and was happy to discover that it looked like my clones were getting the upper-hand. Some were even tag-teaming to fight off one clone. That was good. Amazing, even.

Puns, oh how puns made everything better.

I heard a loud metallic bang from just behind me. I flinched, looking up to see a clone laying on top of the teleporter, groaning in pain. I realised they were one of my own. In the few seconds I had to decide whether or not to help them a clone from above slammed into their stomach causing another bang. I winced in sympathy and I was about to run up and help but as soon as I took a step forward my spider-sense shot a warning through my system. I looked at the teleporter and saw that the controller was fizzing and sparking.

Oh no.

This was bad, really, really, bad.

I shot a web at both clones and before they could react I had yanked them away from the teleporter. No Miles left behind!

"Get away from the teleporter!" I yelled, backing up myself, "It's going to blow!"

I watched fights stop mid-punch, as both parties scrambled to get away. I myself began to back away faster, trying to figure out how to reduce possible collateral damage.

My spider-sense flared again, but this time it wasn't from the teleporter going haywire. I turned around, but only ended up with a face full of fist. I stumbled back, dazed. My spider-sense went off again and I ducked the blow. Only to get kicked hard enough to fly back and bang my head against the side of the teleporter.

My vision swirled as I tried to stand. My spider-sense was increasing at a steady but alarming rate. The machine was whining behind me. All the other clones were a good hundred or so meters away, too far for their webs to pull me to safety in time.

'I'm going to die,' I realised, even as I struggled to get up and run away.

There was a loud boom and I was thrown to the ground, sealing my fate. Red swirled all around my vision and I couldn't tell if there was a fire or just blood causing that because of how blurry my vision was. I felt myself going numb, from the pain I presumed. I tried to get on to my elbows to at least try and crawl away, but I didn't have the strength to as my vision went black and I fell unconscious.


	24. Chapter 24

Ow...

Pain came back to me first. It was dull, but annoyingly reached through every muscle, making a terrible chorus of pain go through me. It was uncoordinated, like cats thrown on a stage with water everywhere… or something.

My head felt fuzzy, like it was filled with cobwebs. I absently moved a hand to my forehead, arm feeling like jelly yet numb, and rubbed at a quickly growing headache.

What had happened...?

Think.

Hydra? Something to do with Hydra. They... they hadn't gotten me again, had they? The ground felt hard, like pavement, but it wasn't cold in that distant way a cold metal table would be. Maybe not?

Wait, there had been clones of me. The clones! The teleporter! How was I still alive? Why did a teleporter exploding not make me die? Well, my body was impossibly sore, past the point that being thrown to the ground or fighting could explain. I mean, my atoms, including my muscles, neurons and organs all had to come back together in the exact same way they had been left to a completely new location. Something could easily be out of place...

But I could remember all of this and the brain was a really sensitive organ so obviously something had gone right when it exploded. But, it had still exploded!

How was I not scattered in pieces all over the world? Luck was for once on my side.

With that decided, I tentatively tried to listen to my surrounding to get an understanding of what was happening before I opened my eyes. But when I tried, all I could was a high pitched whining from my left ear. Still lying down I reached up into my mask and grabbed whatever it was, crushed it and threw the tiny remaining pieces onto the ground.

The whining was now replaced with my ears ringing. Still couldn't hear a thing. Great.

This sucked. But maybe I could get an idea of my surroundings by... feel? Nup, it just felt like aching muscles, bruises, grazes and blood. Which would probably end up being a pain in my ass to clean up. Hopefully, the Ultimates hadn't just abandoned me and would help me. Maybe they wouldn't have to if my healing factor kicked in quick enough. So maybe I would just need a shower?

Maybe this was all a fever dream? Maybe I had actually hit a wall and passed out the night I got taken by Hydra.

No, no that patrol had been quiet. This was, unfortunately, all real.

I shook the stray thoughts away, I should check out what's going on around me instead of wondering what state I was in. That would determine what I could actually do in my current situation. I tried to open an eye but hissed at the blinding light. Oh, this was great. I would have to wait for my eyes to adjust.

So, I couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything, I had no idea where or when I was (who knew, it was a teleporter malfunctioning. Anything could happen) and I was injured. At least my spidey-sense was quiet. So, I was okay - at least for the moment.

I managed to get an elbow under myself and use it as an anchor to push myself up. My legs were to the side and my head was in my hands, my body groaning its protest to the movement.

Why did this have to happen? Why did that clone have to kick-

Suddenly something touched my shoulder and I kicked out at whatever it was before I even realised what I was doing. I jumped away, accidentally crashing into something else that felt squishy, probably a human being. We both went down, me groaning as I hit my funny bone on the pavement. I opened my eyes, realising I didn't have a choice on how long I took to adjust to the light. I had to find out what was going on **right now**.

I turned to look at what I had brought down with me. It was a civilian, crap.

Or at least it looked like one, you never know these days.

I got up slowly and offered them a hand up, which they stared at in a mixture of concern and confusion. I cringed, "Sorry about that," I said, hoping that my apology would make them less uneasy of me. They tentatively accepted my hand and I pulled them to their feet.

I looked back to see who I had kicked and realised that I had, in fact, kicked another innocent. Oh, that must hurt. I approached them with caution, hoping they wouldn't be hostile after I hurt them. I crouched down a meter or so away and waited until I had their attention before saying, "Sorry, that was an accident. Are you okay?"

They nodded and I relaxed, shoulders sagging in relief. I finally allowed myself to look around at my surroundings. Well, that was a crowd of people. Staring. And had witnessed everything. Oh.

I was very aware that I looked like a deer caught in headlights, but this was so embarrassing.

I quickly patted my head to check that my mask was indeed still on. It was, and it was mostly intact, too. It had ripped in a few places, but that couldn't really be helped. I poked through one of the rips and winced as a stab of pain went through me. I should probably get that checked out soon.

I looked down and realised that my costume wasn't in the best state. It looked like a little kid had grabbed some scissors and started hacking away at it. But it mostly covered me, which was all that mattered right now. Wouldn't want to accidentally flash a crowd of people.

I looked up, relief sagging over me as I realised I was in a city that looked very familiar. When I smelt the air it smelt like everything undoubtedly New York. This was great! Awesome! I wouldn't have to go on some crazy adventure trying to get home.

I looked back at the crowd as I saw someone approaching me. They were moving slowly, like I was a threat or a cornered animal. Which, hey, I was just Lil' ol' me, no harm to anyone but myself. Their mouth was moving, but I couldn't hear a thing. Ah, that's right I couldn't hear a thing.

"My ears are ringing, I uh, I can't hear you," I said, standing up properly. "Ah, if you're asking how I am, I'm sore, and if you're asking why I'm here, a teleporter exploded. Is there anything else?"

They nodded. They seemed to frown, probably wondering how to get the point across. Moments later they were reaching for their bag and pulled out a notebook and pen. They scribbled out something and then showed it to me.

'Who are you?' I read. I frowned. That wasn't right, surely most of New York knew who I was by now? I mean, sure I wasn't the best of the best but I did get to fight alongside them! Also, there had been a bunch of clones everywhere, I'm not sure how you would miss that.

"Spider-man, I'm in the news sometimes? I should be in the news right now?" I said, looking at the crowd. They seemed… confused. That wasn't right…

They scribbled something else and then presented it to me. 'You don't look like Spider-man.'

I was starting to realise that something was seriously wrong here, and I had an idea of what it was, but I was scared to verify it. "Uh, has no one ever seen me?" Many of them shook their head. "Ever? On the news? Newspapers? No?"

The only logical conclusion I could come up with was… I was in an alternative universe. Or mind control. There was no way that New Yorkers, a crowd of New Yorkers had never heard of me. Like a thousand or so of me, by my guesses, had been running around. It had to have been on the news. I guess I would have to find some superheroes to help me, because I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Or time travel?

"Can someone show me the Spider-man of this world? Or any superheroes of this world?" I asked, looking around at the group. Quickly people had their phones out, and in under a minute someone was presenting their phone.

It was of a Spider-man, but unlike the Peter Parker Spider-man, I had met a few months ago this one had a red and black design. Actually, most of their design was black, their webbing was black, the spider was black and legs were black. They seemed to have some sort of gauntlet on their arms, which was silver with a red dot on it. I had never seen anything like it, but it did look cool. Hopefully, they were friendly like the Peter Parker Spider-man.

So there was a Spider-man in this world, but there ought to be some superhero teams too. I should probably look for them first, instead of a probably elusive Spider-man.

"Who's the big superhero team?" I asked, looking around at the small crowd, "Like the Ultimates, or... Fantastic Four?"

"Oh, we have the Avengers and the Fantastic Four." Oh hey, I could just hear them over the ringing in my ears.

"And they live in New York?" I asked, looking up at the surrounding buildings.

"Yeah." Another person confirmed.

I thwiped a web, pulling it taught and jumping away. "Thank you!" I called over my shoulder, doing a small salute. I looked back in front of me and raced down the street by web, ignoring my burning muscles. When I felt like I was far enough away I pulled myself up on to a random building. I had to patch myself off before I did anything else. I wanted to make sure none of my injuries were life-threatening or would slow me down.

I wished I still had that bandage from when I had broken my wrist, because right now I had nothing. I couldn't even wander around on the streets because I had nothing to change into.

I swung onto a building and sat down on the side of the building. Now was as good a time as any to check my wounds and costume properly. I looked over my arms first and found carpet burns, which I guessed was from being thrown into the ground. They were bleeding a little bit, but all I needed to do was get rid of all the gravel in it. I looked at my legs and found a similar situation. Actually, most of my wounds were the equivalent of carpet burns, but slightly worse. Like someone had viciously dragged me across the ground for ages. But still, carpet burn type wounds. Where there were wounds the costume had been torn away, and in some places, the costume was thinner but luckily hadn't torn.

I was glad it was nothing worse, if something was broken it would really suck trying to treat it. I would have to do what I had done when I had dragged myself out of the water after breaking my wrist all over again. And even then I only had the canisters currently in my web shooter to rely on. Since Stark had given them to me, who knew just how much I had in it? I would probably have to use a part of my costume to wrap up any injuries if it came down to that.

I stood up, now I just needed to find a toilet to clean myself up. Where was the nearest mall?

I jumped down and began swinging. Manhattan hall would probably maybe be around, right? I wasn't looking forward to having to walk around in a costume in a mall, that would be awkward, or maybe they would think I was a weird cosplayer…

* * *

I lounged on top of a hot dog van, looking up at the sky. It was starting to get dark, with the cold beginning to settle with it. The sun had only just set and the orange in the sky was fading rapidly. I was reluctant to leave, especially with the chance of another hot dog coming my way.

See, I was walking around on the street, wondering what I was going to do next cause I still didn't know where the Avengers lived or where the fantastic four lived and I didn't want to waste any webbing. So I was pointlessly wandering around when this old man in front of a vending machine calls out, telling me to come over. He had asked who I was, and after I had explained my situation, had passed me a hot dog.

Completely surprised, I had asked why and he said that the spidey on this world used to stop here all the time, but after he got his costume change he never came around. So if he couldn't feed his Spidey, he should feed a spidey in need.

So here I was, relaxed, with a full stomach. Honestly, it was so nice to have a warm meal, especially one not made by a Hydra person. It felt nice, all around. Nice enough for me not to question what this hot-dog was made of.

I placed a hand under my head and wondered where to go from here. Obviously, the Avengers wouldn't want to shout out their location for all the world to know. That would just be silly. But it made dimension-travellers like me have a hard time. Ugh.

Wait, maybe I could go on a patrol. Maybe some super heroes also went on patrols, and I could meet them and go 'what-up, I need help.'

"Hey Stan, are there a lot of superheroes in New York? Like, ones that stop petty crime?" I asked, looking down at him.

He looked up at me, "Oh yeah, New York is just crawling with superheroes. Sometimes it feels like you walk into a random alley and there's one."

"That's great. That's awesome! Thanks." I said, turning my head back to look at the sky.

I tensed up as my spider sense began to hum, then turned into a growl. I sat up, looking around for the source of it. Maybe it was a low-level threat? Or something was about to attack New York? Or-

Something attached to my chest and suddenly I was flying through the air. I may have screamed, and it may have been very high-pitched, but no one needed to know that.

Before I really had time to process where I was going, I was on concrete. I stumbled and fell over, where luckily I caught myself by my hands. I looked down at the thing on my chest… that looked like a spider-web. Oh boy.

I stood up, brushing myself off as I went. I turned to look at this universe's Spider-man and couldn't help but admire him. He looked really intimidating, what with them being like two head's taller than me, and the way the lenses stared at me made me want to hide in a hole. He was scary, okay? I had no shame in admitting that. I wish I could be just as scary with my shortness and admittedly kind of… high-pitched, not yet very manly voice.

"Hi!" I squeaked. I mentally facepalmed. Great job. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Uh, I'm Spider-man. I mean, I'm not you Spider-man or some weird cosplayer or something, I'm Spider-man from another world and-"

"Would you shut up? I already know this." They growled.

I gulped, taking a small step back, "Uh, sorry, I talk when I get nervous…"

"As most spider-men do," he grumbled under his breath. "Why are you here?"

"It wasn't my fault?" I tried. "I was in a big superhero fight and a teleporter malfunctioned and now I'm in this world, so, you know."

"Let me guess," he sneered, "You got overwhelmed or pinned down and couldn't get out of there in time?"

"Um, yes?" I sobered up a little. Being scary was great and all, but it was only good when it was directed towards actual bad guys. This guy thought it was okay to be a jerk to a fellow superhero, and if he was a hero he should understand how hard it is to be one.

Just because I made a mistake it did not make me a terrible superhero.

"Look, Spider-man or whatever you call yourself, I'm stuck in this Universe and I just need help getting home. Sorry if I inconvenienced you,-" I came closer, squaring my shoulders and puffing out my chest, "-but let me, remind you that you were the one that showed up out of the blue, rudely grabbed me and threw me on to this rooftop. I didn't interrupt you or do anything for you to be so… mean."

"My spider-bots registered you as something odd that I should check out. So I did. So, you did interrupt me."

"The last Peter Parker Spider-man I met was actually nice, and we helped each other. Ever heard of that? Working together?" I snapped. "I'm going to go find some other, better, superhero to help me." He didn't need to know that I had no idea where to find them.

As I thwiped a web, intent on following through with what I said, even if it would take me forever, my spider-sense went off and I looked back at them to see him inches from my face. A part of me wanted to scream, but I refused to look I was freaking out.

"I am the best superhero around here. Do you want to get home faster? If you do, then you come with me and I'll have you home by tomorrow," he said, his voice on the edge of a growl. I wanted to say he sounded like the worst impression of Batman ever but I didn't want to die. This guy might just do that because I hurt his ego.

"How do I know you won't try and kill me instead? My spider-sense is humming, and it's definitely coming from you." I folded my arms, "All you've done is stake claims about how mighty you are, insulted me and been a jerk. Maybe you'll just shoot me with a death ray?"

"Too messy to clean up," he grumbled. "But I can do this in half the time that any other superhero can."

"How about we test that," I challenged, "You call all your superhero friends- scratch that, any superhero that you know," obviously he had no friends, but I didn't add that, "and tell them the situation. You beat them to the punch, great, you proved yourself better than all of them. You don't? Well…"

"Fine!" A moment later this Spider-man had brought out some weird device I assumed was a phone of some sort and pressed a bunch of buttons. A minute later he looked back at me. "Done, come with me I need to do some testing."

I tensed, "Um, no thanks. I don't trust you."

He narrowed his eyes at me, "I need to find out which universe you're from." He ground out.

"Invent the teleporter or something first, that doesn't require knowing where exactly I'm from," I said, taking a step back.

He looked at me for a moment longer, every moment making me want to shrink in on myself more. Finally, he threw something at me and I looked down at it. "Communicator. Keep in touch and don't die, I have a point to prove."

This time he thwipped a web and gradually disappeared into the skyline. Well, that guy is a huge jerk. But I would put up with him to get home. Hopefully, he would actually get me home and not just slice me up into a million pieces.

Now to find a superhero, preferably a nicer one.

Resolved to my plan, I thwiped a web and set out for the night.

* * *

I heard a scream and followed the noise, quickly discovering the source of the sound. A small girl was surrounded by three people, all wearing crude masks to cover their identities. One had a crowbar, another a bat and the last had a gun. I would have to get the weapons first, or maybe I could simply get the girl up out of the way and then take them down.

Yep, that was a good plan. Less chance of them being in harm's way.

I dropped to the ground right in front of the girl, keeping low and ready to battle. "Hiya!" I cheerfully said, before grabbing the girl and jumping into the air.

She screamed in surprise while the criminals screamed some… unfavourable things at me. I put her down gently on top of the building. "Stay here, I'm just going to web up the baddies and then I'll help find your parents," I promised. She sniffed and nodded and I gave a small salute before I back-flipped down into the alley. Cause I could.

The criminals had their arms thrown wildly in the air as they argued loudly.

"You just let them get away! Now we won't get paid!"

"It's not my fault, you were the closest."

"You had a gun. You could have just shot them!"

"Aw, shucks, you don't have to argue over little ol' me! I'm touched, really." I said, wiping away a fake tear.

"You little twerp! Get him!" Yelled the first one.

I thwiped a web at the nozzle of the gun before that could be shot, in-casing their hand in the process. While they tried to shake it off the other two came running at me. I dropped to the ground and brought the one with the bat down before lunging at the other one with the crowbar. I grabbed the crowbar with one hand, using the other to punch him square on the nose. He yelled out in pain and I tugged the crowbar out of his grasp.

While he was distracted, I Spartan kicked him to the ground and webbed him up, the crowbar clattering down beside him before it was securely covered in web.

Spider-sense!

I ducked beneath one punch and jumped out of the way of a kick. I whirled around and kicked them in the hoo-ha. They collapsed to the ground and I used that moment to stick them to the ground. Now there was only one thug left.

Spider-sense!

I whirled around and found the first thug charging at me with his hand still covered in webs. I guess they had given up on getting the webbing off. I webbed their feet to the ground and they fell forward. I wrapped them securely in two or three webs.

Satisfied, I checked their pockets, found a phone, and called the police to come collect them.

I climbed back up to the rooftop to find the girl and hopefully get her home, but stopped when I saw the newcomer. He had wrapped her in a hug.

"Um, hi?"

They looked up and I saw little devil horns on their head. The only part of their skin I could see was their mouth and chin, but besides that, they were covered head to toe in red. They were crouched next to the little girl.

"You handled that fight well." They stated, voice gruff and low.

"Thanks?"

"I was about to take this nice young lady to her father, he's very close by. I'll be back in a moment."

"Wait-!" but they were gone already and I blinked in confusion. What just happened? That must have been some sort of superhero, if not the Daily Bugle would tarnish-

Actually, it doesn't really matter what I do here. I wasn't a hero here, I would just be here and gone. But still, I didn't want to live with that guilt.

I went to the edge of the building, trying to see the devil horn guy. After several minutes of looking I couldn't find him, at all. I bit my lip, that wasn't good. I mean, I wanted them to come back and if they were a good guy I could go, 'hey, can I crash at your place' and then boom, my biggest problem solved.

I frowned, I didn't think they were coming back. I might as well just… keep on patrolling.

I turned around and screamed. What was with 'superheroes' and scaring me? "DUDE, WHAT THE HECK."

While I had been distracted this guy with the horns had come around behind me and stopped less than a metre away from me. That was so creepy and wrong.

"You can't just sneak up on people like that!"

"Sorry to surprise you," they replied. I folded my arms, he didn't sound sorry at all. "I was testing out your senses." Yep, this guy was an ass. 'Testing my senses,' who did that? This guy turns out.

"Whatever, how's the little girl?" I asked, deciding to get straight to the point and not talk about how wrong it is to sneak up on people.

"Fine. Safe. With their father." They said, moving past me to stand at the edge of the rooftop.

"That's good." Okay, suck it up I had to ask at some point. Even if this guy was an ass, he might be a superhero asshole who would help me. "Um, look I had a bit of a situation." I saw their head tilt towards me. Good, I had their interest. "How do I put this...? I'm from an alternative universe. I'm the Spider-man of that world and the 'Superior' Spider-man here, who's a huge jerk, is working on getting me home." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "Thing is… I don't really have anywhere to stay here and I don't want to live on the street during that time."

There was a pregnant pause while I nervously waited for their reply. Would they dismiss me? Think I was a lunatic? I hoped not.

They finally turned to look at me properly and I squared myself, ready to be rejected.

"You're telling the truth." They simply said.

I shrugged, "Yeah, I mean, it would be hard to come up with a story like that."

"And you want to live in my apartment while you wait to get home?" He asked.

I nervously nodded. He seemed to consider me for a long moment before giving in. "Alright, come with me." He jumped off the roof as the last word came out of his mouth and I ran after him. I swung off after him, trying to spot him again.

Man, this guy loved disappearing out of sight and off of buildings.


	25. Chapter 25

I laid in bed, wide awake. I couldn't get to sleep, no matter how hard I tried. It should be easy, I felt exhausted and tired, but my mind was wandering and refused to shut off.

I kept on thinking about home. I missed my friends, my family, I missed having a normal school day, of crawling into my dorm with cuts and scrapes and of stressing about homework and deadlines. But I couldn't have that, not until I got home. Who knew if I even would have the opportunity to live a normal life? People would wonder what happened, how it happened, why I was gone so long and how I got back. They would think I was kidnapped and tortured, or something along those lines. It wasn't far off but I don't think I could stand the codling, the sympathetic looks and the questions… People would ask so many questions that I couldn't answer, and that might be the worst part about all of this. I couldn't answer them all. I might never be able to live a normal life.

I angrily wiped a tear away. It wasn't fair. I would have been just fine if I had never been bitten, if I had kept my powers a secret from Ganke, if I had never put on that Halloween costume. Even then, I wouldn't be in a whole different universe wondering if I would ever get home again if I had just decided to head home an hour earlier that night and sleep.

I sat up, putting my head in my hands. At least I wasn't dead, at least Mum and Dad knew I was alive. If I had died when I was escaping, they would have thought I was missing or had run away, and that was a horrifying thought.

I hoped the Ultimates had collected all of my clones. If they didn't, eventually they would die of old age, or maybe SHIELD would want to get it over with quicker and kill them. It was morbid… but I couldn't live my life with all of them around. They might try and replace me or something. I huffed out a small laugh, maybe they should. They would feel loved for a short period of time, maybe they deserved it more than me.

No, no. I was the original, of course I should live my life as the original. Just because they would pass away with no real love and only my memories of it, didn't mean I should give away my life. Thinking about the clones was depressing but there wasn't much I could do about it. It was pretty much out of my hands.

I also hoped that my New York wouldn't hate me after the whole clone thing. From what the clones had said they were only going for small things, except for maybe those tiny evil me's. Those bastards were the worst.

I laid back down, this wasn't the time to speculate on the fate of my clones or whether or not New York would hate me, this was the time to get sleep and recharge. Otherwise, I would be exhausted tomorrow when I went out to crime fight and that was always bad. Except, I had a strong feeling I wouldn't sleep at all.

I finally gave up, there wasn't a point in trying to sleep when I was this wound up. Maybe I could tire myself out? I mean, I was already tired but maybe a little extra exhaustion would help.

I slowly opened the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. I crept over to the kitchen and looked inside the fridge. Milk, perfect. I'll be as cliché as possible and try hot milk.

I looked around and eventually found a cup and the microwave. I had set it to microwave when I heard a noise. I spun around and found Matt standing there. He had his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the counter.

I was pretty proud of myself for not screaming. I mean, Matt kept on appearing like a bad jump scare in a horror movie, but I guess that I had gotten so desensitised that all I did was stare.

I had learned when I had gotten to Daredevil's house that his real name was Matt Murdock. And that, get this, he's blind. He was keeping me fed, had let me crash on his couch, and shower. Honestly, it was pretty great. Except for the fact that last night I got back from patrol for most of the night and turn a light on and BOOM. They were staring in my direction. It was creepy but I knew it wasn't their fault.

"Uh, I couldn't get to sleep," I explained quickly, rubbing the back of my neck nervously. Maybe I had been desensitised to him sneaking around everywhere but I was definitely not used to being stared at by a blind man.

"That's fine. Do you know what time it is?" he asked.

"No?"

"It's five am, I have to get ready for work," he explained, an almost amused look on his face.

"Well… I have all day to sleep, right?"

Matt approached me. "Keep out of trouble if you can, don't blow up my apartment, and don't die. Have a good day." As he passed, he lightly patted my back and then he was gone.

The microwave beeped and I got the milk out. I had a sip and gagged. The internet had lied to me – this tasted terrible!

* * *

To say living in a different universe was weird was a gross understatement.

Buildings that should have been there were gone and old buildings looked newer. People here treated me differently, they were more accepting of me and didn't run screaming if I offered to help them. They had an almost… indifference about me. I mean, there were more heroes in this Universe as I had quickly discovered, so I guess that wasn't a huge surprise.

The Avengers had wanted to meet me (which was cool), street-level heroes saw me and thought that I had to answer all their questions (annoying) and I bumped into so many of them. In my Universe, there was an occasional team up, but here it happened nearly every night, it seemed.

Which was what led me to where I was now. I was getting ready to beat up this guy calling himself 'Paste Pot Pete.' Like, I wasn't even joking. This guy had honestly gone and thought that was some sort of intimidating name.

And maybe even weirder was who I was teaming up with to stop them. I was crouching beside a hero calling themselves Squirrel-Girl. They had this weird tail, and honestly, I kept thinking they were some weird furry super-hero until it moved again.

"So you burst straight through and try and web him to the ground and I'll follow after you and between the two of us they'll be down in ten seconds flat!" Squirrel-Girl explained, a bright smile on her face.

"Or, you distract them while I shut down their weapon of mass destruction. My spider-sense should mean I don't blow us up in the process," I said, crossing my hands over my chest.

"Or, we take them down and then we get them to tell us how to shut it down. Less chance of us blowing up," Squirrel-Girl countered.

"Or, my spider-sense will make sure I don't blow us up."

"Or, you're a big scaredy cat who won't fight Paste Pot Pete."

"Or, it feels kind of embarrassing to fight a guy calling himself Paste Pot Pete!"

"Or, he's going to cover all of New York in a stick substance and none of us will ever be able to move again. We're saving New York! What's so bad about that?" she said, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Or, he called himself Paste Pot Pete and I don't want any of that white sticky stuff on me. Who knows what it's made of?" I said, then shuddered.

"Or, you're definitely a scaredy cat. If you won't save New York, I will!" she shouted, before crashing through the window and attempting to kick Paste-Pot Pete in the face. He began shooting weird gloopy stuff at her and I decided that was my cue.

I jumped through the window, resigning myself to my fate.

Here goes my pride.

* * *

It was later that evening that I got a text. Not from the other Spider-Man, but from this universe's Tony Stark. A part of me was very smug about Tony beating that Spider-Man to the punch. In fact, I may have been gleeful, but no one had to know that.

It simply said to meet him at Avengers HQ. Which was really annoying because I had no idea where it was. I replied with that, minus the part about me being annoyed, and waited for a reply.

"Turn around and jump over buildings for one kilometre," a mechanical voice told me. I would be lying if I didn't say I jumped a meter or so. Instead of being a normal person and sending the address, he hacked the device. Of course he did. Any Tony Stark has to outdo everyone, whether big or small it seemed.

I quickly followed its directions and ended up in front of a more or less normal looking building… except for the part where it had a **giant A on it.**

How did I miss this? I blame it on how big New York is. Yep, that was totally why I hadn't found it before...

I walked in through the doors, and a mechanical voice greeted me. " **Hello sir, if you would kindly follow my directions I will take you to master's lab."**

"Ah, thanks, voice in the ceiling?" I replied, looking around the room for some sort of camera. This felt weird, I didn't like it, but it was still pretty cool. Was that weird? Yes.

I ended up in a futuristic lab that looked like it belonged more in a sci-fi film than real life, mixed with a chaotic backyard project that went horribly wrong. Everything looked really hi-tech, but scattered around was random coffee-cups and paper. Honestly, I wasn't entirely surprised.

"Ah, there you are black Spider-Man. How are you doing?" Tony Stark asked as he spun around in his wheelie chair. Because of course.

"Fine?"

"Good, well I've got a device so that you'll go straight back home," he said. Holy moly, I expected to be around here longer… This was great. Incredible, even! And he hadn't even asked to experiment on where I had come from. Superior Spider-man isn't so superior after all.

"Really? No side effects? Nothing that could possibly go wrong?" I asked, excitement growing inside of me. This had to be way too good to be true.

"Besides a thirty percent chance you will break into tiny pieces of goo? No. You ready to go?"

"Wait, what?"

"I'll take that as a yes. Bye Spidey!" Something above my head whirred to life and before I could protest it covered me in a blinding flash of light.

And just like that, I was gone. I hadn't even had the chance to thank Matt for helping me, or say goodbye.

* * *

I was falling through the sky above New York and I think I found that the worst part about this. Like, seriously? I was falling from higher than all the buildings and how did Tony Stark of that other universe not think this might happen?

I looked below me. I was really high up, enough for panic to set in. How would I survive this? Reigning my thoughts in, I tried to guess where I would go splat. Directly below me was ten to twenty stories high apartment, so it was more than likely that I would land between them.

Alright, how do I survive this? I didn't think normal swinging would help. If I didn't get it right it would be more like a bungy and that would not end well. Even if I did do a proper swing, there would be way too much force and momentum behind me. I would probably snap my hand, if not more. But if I was landing between buildings… I could get a web net to break my fall. Fingers crossed that I wouldn't die.

Wait, maybe I could make a parachute out of my webs? I didn't have any idea how to though and I did not have the time to experiment right now… Web net it is!

I waited until I thought my webs would actually connect to the buildings below me before I began to shoot webs between the buildings. I built it so that it had multiple layers rising from the bottom so even if it did snap I wasn't entirely doomed. I added as many as I could, as I rapidly approached the net. Two seconds before I landed in it I braced myself by tucking into a ball.

I hit the first web too fast and it threatened to snap. All the webs stretched down but it wasn't holding my weight fast enough to slow me down. Before I could even try to do something to help myself, I hit the ground with a 'thunk,' and the force was hard enough for me to be knocked unconscious.

* * *

I came around, eyes blinking open to find a night sky filled with stars. I went to sit up and find where I was but as soon as I did my head went woozy and threatened to make me pass out again. I blinked a few times, slowly waiting for the feeling to pass before I began to look around.

I was still in my net of webs so I guessed less than an hour had passed. If it was longer than that I would be on the ground. That was good. I could hear honking cars and some shouting below me, but no one had gotten to me yet. I got to my feet, being careful not to aggravate my head any further and peeked over the edge of the webs. Someone pointed at me and shouted, "Look!"

Then there were at least two dozen people looking at me. I ducked back down, unsure how to react. Should I just go down there and go, 'Hi, sorry for maybe stopping traffic with my webs, really, I just wanted to live another day but I know it's pretty disruptive, sorry.'

Okay, actually people might believe that, so maybe I should do that?

I was about to lower myself to the ground when the web shook under my feet. I turned around to see a superhero I had never seen before. Their costume was mostly white except for their legs and chest, and they had a white hoodie on their head. Their lenses were white and were outlined in pink, and I could just make out that on the inside of the hoodie it was pink. That same colour of pink was also on their biceps.

"Who are you?" she asked, standing up from her crouch.

I stood up too. "Spider-man. Are you a new superhero? Because I've never seen you before."

"I was just about to ask the same thing. I've never seen you on the news, except for today. This net definitely got the media's attention."

I paused, thinking. "What's Captain America like in this world?"

She tilted her head, confused. "Ah, she's fine. Why?"

I groaned, putting my head in my hands. "Damn it, it didn't work!"

"What didn't work?" they asked, taking a cautious step forward.

"Believe it or not, I'm from a different universe and I went from my world to another world where that Tony Stark said he could get me home and instead I'm here, not home. This is just great!" I said in one long breath, pacing on the web with my arms flapping wildly about.

"Oh… that sucks…" they said after a moment. I turned to glare at them.

"No shoot, Sherlock."

"Well, I could take you to the Reed Richards of this world? He's pretty smart."

I paused, thinking. My Reed Richards was smart and dangerous, but if a hero offered it like it was no big deal there was a good chance he wasn't evil. I sighed, turning back to look at them. "What do I have to lose?"


	26. Chapter 26

I couldn't help but outright stare at this Reed Richards. He was… maybe slightly younger than me. He was absolutely nothing like any of the previous Reed Richards I'd met before. I wasn't sure if I even could count all the differences between them both because there were so many. The only similarity was how smart they all were.

He waved another homemade device at me and sighed, "Yep, only a Tony Stark could make such an obvious and simple mistake."

"A mistake? But I thought he was a genius?" I asked, confused.

"See, I think what he did was a contingency plan if you didn't get straight to your Universe… because he didn't use a very precise tool, and maybe just a scan, to figure out which exact universe you were from it threw all the readings off just enough to send you here instead."

Spider-woman, who was sitting in the corner with her arms crossed, finally piped up. "So what does that mean? Is he getting home?"

"Eventually. See what I'm pretty sure the contingency is, is that if your readings didn't completely sync with the universe you're in the device that Tony had in his world will recharge for about twelve hours or so to gain enough power then send you to another universe. However, there are time differences in different universes. So you could be here for days or just a few hours." He explained, putting away his various gadgets.

"You're kidding me? Right?" At the sympathetic look he gave me I buried my head in my hands, "Can't you send me straight to my universe?"

"I don't think I should… I don't have all the technology and even if I did it could mess up everything. In other words, you would get home and then you would be sent to another universe, or something even worse," he said.

I thought it over. So I would have to jump through some universes until I got to mine. On the bright side, I would see more universes than pretty much everyone else, ever. On the really bad side, I might come across a really bad universe. I bit my lip, thinking. "I'm going to need some supplies then. Can you help me make a lot more webbing Reed? I think I've nearly run out of mine."

"Of course. Should be easy enough."

"Spider-woman, if it's not too much trouble, would you get a bag filled with water and food cans? I don't care about what's in the cans as long as it's edible and not expired. Then I should be more or less ready for whatever the world-… universes throw at me." I asked, giving them the most pleading look I could with a mask on.

She sighed and nodded, "Sure, I should be back in twenty minutes or so. I can also grab you a change of clothes if that helps?"

"That'll be amazing, thank you," I said. She got up and climbed out of the window, a thwipping sound following.

I took out my webbing and put it on his workbench. "Here, will you need any help?"

"Do you know the exact formula?" I shook my head. "Then… no."

* * *

I had been silent as Reed worked on creating as many batches as he could. So far he was on his third, which I believed was almost done. I didn't really feel like talking much. It seemed to suit him just fine.

But I did have a couple of questions still.

"When will I know I'm about to leave?" I asked, twiddling my thumbs.

They shrugged, not looking away from their work, "I have no idea. There might be no warning or you might fade away or leave in a flash of light. You'll probably figure out a pattern on your own."

There was a thump outside the window and we both looked up. I put fresh webs into my web-shooter and braced for a fight, while Reed froze in place. A few seconds passed before someone knocked on the window. I breathed out quietly and went up to the window. There was Spider-woman, with a backpack in her hand.

I opened the window and let her in. "Thanks. I got you all the cans I could find in my cupboard and plenty of water. And an old blanket, because I thought you might want that and a hoodie and sweatpants. By the way, thanks. I got to clean out my cupboard and for once it doesn't look like a disaster. How're things here?"

"I've finished the third batch of webbing, so you Spider-man should have enough to last you for ages," Reed explained, turning around in his chair and showing a handful of refills. My eyes bulged. "I'll find a little bag for you to put them in and then you're set."

Before I could think about it too much I launched forward and hugged the two of them. Reed seemed to accept it as a fact of life and did nothing but Spider-woman went tense. She awkwardly patted my back.

I stepped back, "You have no idea how much this means to me. It would have sucked having to steal or something."

"Yeah, no problem. Here are your webs. I was happy to help," Reed said, passing me the small ziplock back of refills. I quickly stuffed them in my bag, which I noticed was nearly full with everything in it.

"So, now what?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"We could go patrolling together?" Spider-woman said, and I grinned.

"Superhero team-up!"

* * *

It was when I was taking down a ninja that I started to feel… something.

I roundhouse kicked the ninja into a wall and webbed him up. He struggled for a moment before seemingly giving in and falling silent.

I looked down at my hands as the sensation grew stronger. It was like tiny pins pricking me in a randomised pattern. It wasn't necessarily painful, but it was distracting.

"Spider-woman? Did the Ninjas hit you with something? I mean, do you feel like there are tiny pins pricking you?" I asked, approaching her.

She finished up her phone call to the police before she replied. "No, I don't feel anything out of the ordinary. Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, it's just… weird. Where to next?" I asked, shifting the bag straps so they were a little more secure.

"Actually, could it mean you're about to jump universes?"

"If it is then-"

A flashing light and bang interrupted me. A feeling of weightlessness came over me. It was as if I was falling…

Falling?

I rubbed my eyes and groaned in frustration. I was falling one thousand or so meters above New York… again! I swear, if this happens every time I might just run out of webs before the universe… exploring? Adventure? Teleporting? Was over.

This time at least, I could improve how many webs I put on the ground. This time, hopefully, I wouldn't be knocked out.

It was so annoying though, like, this probably was definitely not supposed to happen. Why did that Tony Stark have to be so unreliable? He had one job!

As I grew closer to the ground, I noticed that this New York was bustling with people. So a horrible universe was probably crossed out. I could be wrong, everyone could secretly be snakes or it's all an illusion created by toxins in this Universe's air, but I had a feeling everything was okay. Mostly because my Spider-sense was only screeching about falling from so high up.

A few seconds earlier then I had the last time I was falling I began piling up the area I would land in with webs, extending all the way up to the top of the buildings. Just when I was about to fall into the net I tucked my body into a ball and covered my head.

I fell into the nets and I fell around ten meters before slowing down and stopping. I waited a few seconds before breathing out a sigh of relief and relaxing into the webbing. Now to find out just how messed up this Universe is. How fun.

Just as I was about to crawl out of the webbing, the webbing dipped under someone's weight. Whoever they, or it, was, they were behind me.

I whirled around to find a Peter Parker Spider-man crouched in his classic pose. Or at least I presumed it was them from their familiar costume. But I had a strong feeling it was them, the one I had met before any of this.

"Peter! Oh, it's good to see you. How's life been? It's been ages since I last saw you!" I stood up and they slowly followed suit. That's when I noticed that they were only slightly taller than me. "Um…" Oh crap, oh no, they aren't the Peter I had met, red alert! Red alert!

They grabbed me by my costume and tugged me forward, "How do you know my name? I haven't told anyone besides Mr Stark and Ned. Who are you anyway?"

That's when I finally noticed the extra black lines along the costume. Why didn't I notice that sooner? "I'm going to sound absolutely insane, but please believe me."

Their eyes narrowed with a whirring sound, and I absently noted that it sounded like a camera zoom. "My girlfriends Dad was secretly a guy running a black market for superhero and alien weapons and fought me in a suit that looked kind of similar to a Vulture. I don't think much could beat that."

"Join the club, honestly." Their grip on my costume tightened and it threatened to tear. "Wait, wait! Don't do that. I'm a universe hopper-" Nope, that wasn't a good name either. I would think of a different one at a later time, "-and I thought you were a Peter Parker Spider-man I had met before but clearly you're not because there are some tweaks in costume design, his eyes do not move like that and he's clearly older than you. Not that there's anything wrong with that!"

There was a small pause where the seemed to dwell on what I said before saying, "Prove it."

"Um, well, I don't know how? If you search up my secret identity there's either going to be a copy of me or I just don't exist in this world and I know next to nothing about you or this universe yet so please cut me some slack. I'm tired enough as it is without you threatening me three ways to Sunday." I babbled nervously.

Their eyes widened, and if I wasn't in my current situation I probably would have either cooed at how adorably innocent it made him look or snort. Or a combination of both. "I wouldn't hurt a random person, that's just wrong-"

"Well, obviously but I'm not exactly a civilian so-"

"And I don't want to hurt a kid-"

"You're a kid too! Honestly, at this point, it's probably a contest on who's older-"

"And I really need to call Mr Stark, this is insane."

"Yeah, Nah. An alternate version of him meant well but now I'm jumping universes because he couldn't be bothered to do more than a scan on where I was actually from."

"What? Mr Stark would never do something like that!"

"Don't get your knickers in a knot, he meant well and he actually had back up plans if I didn't go straight home. Now that's good thinking. He just didn't do more than a scan on which Universe I was on." I said, resisting the urge to cross my arms.

"Oh… Can I call Mr Stark now?" they said, finally letting go of my costume and stepping back. I was thankful to notice there was no damage to my costume.

"No way, and if Reed Richards said there was nothing I could do but wait until I reached my universe, I'm going to trust their word over the guy who got me into this situation," I explained.

"What? Who's Reed Richards?" They asked, tilting their head just so.

I gaped, "Your universe doesn't have Reed Richards? But he's in nearly every universe and he's super smart. Even if in my universe him being that smart is bad… still!"

"Alright, whatever. What should I do with you then if you really don't want me to call Mr Stark?" They said, putting their hands on their hips.

"Um… well, I don't know exactly when I'll be leaving so probably just take me to your house or something. Now that I think about it… I'm really tired. I don't think I've slept since that first Stark put me in this mess. Unless you count being knocked unconscious sleeping?" They shook their head. "Alright then, I haven't slept in… thirteen hours or so. Man, I didn't realise we had been patrolling that long!"

I finally turned back to look at them, "Anyway, can I crash? Thanks! Lead the way 'Spider-man-that-has-a-high-chance-of-being-my-age, or SMTHAHCOBMA. That sounds like a Harry Potter spell, don't you think?"

"Karen, am I this annoying?" I heard him whisper.

* * *

After a quick swing, I was climbing through this Peter Parker's window. It was a… cozy room. I saw some Lego builds, posters relating to science, and clothes on the floor. So a typical teenagers room then. I looked to my right and saw a bunk bed. Oh man, he had a bunk bed! It was like the Universes had planned this just to make me jealous.

"I call top bunk!" I said, dropping my bag and jumping onto the bed.

Peter by this point had climbed through the window and taken off his mask. "Be quiet, or Aunt May will hear you." He pressed the spider on his chest and I watched in fascination as his costume loosened and fell off him.

"Whoa… I'm totally going to see if I can figure out a way to get my costume to do that. That would save so much time…" I whispered in awe.

They threw on some clothes before they turned back to me. "Please try and be quiet while you sleep. If Aunt May finds you here…"

"Relax Peter, I'll be as quiet as a spider." I tugged my mask off and extended an arm over the side of the bed. "I'm Miles Morales, by the way. Thanks for letting me crash."

They shrugged, "It's fine." They chuckled quietly, running a hand through his hair, "Ned is never going to believe me."

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," I joked. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep so please don't wake me up unless an alien invasion is happening, or the end of the world in general… or if you're going to die. Good night."

They said goodnight before walking out of their room, closing the door behind them. I quickly changed out of my Spider-man suit before tucking myself in. I thought for a moment before webbing my bag over to myself and shoving my costume in. I then put the handle around my wrist. Just in case I teleported when I slept, so I wouldn't leave it behind. Then I realised if that happened I would need my web-shooters to survive so I put those on. Never hurt to be prepared.

Finally satisfied, I turned over in bed and closed my eyes.

* * *

When I woke up to morning light streaming through, relief passed through me. I hadn't teleported.

Wait, maybe I had and I was in a new universe and someone had saved me? I looked over the bunk and saw Peter snoring softly. I breathed out a sigh of relief, nope, still in this Universe.

I relaxed and put my head back on my pillow. That was a good sleep. This bed was so much better than the couch I had slept on at Brad's. Like, there were no lumps. And the pillow was just right. It felt like a five-star experience after way too long of dealing with a one star. Except for Brad, Brad was at least a three. Brad was nice.

I settled further into the sheets. To stay in bed or to not? That was the question.

I looked around the room and spotted a laptop. Hmm…

I quietly climbed out of the bed, careful not to make the bed creak. I paused for a moment, making sure Peter was dead to the world before I wandered over to the computer and turned it on. A picture of what looked like some school team was on it. Huh.

I pressed enter and was surprised to find it already welcoming me into the laptop. He didn't have a password? For someone so smart, that just seemed silly.

After a few seconds of waiting, I was in. That felt way too easy. I clicked on a folder named 'school' and was unsurprised to find all his subjects organised into their own folders. When I clicked into one of them, I find he had named folders by the assignment names. When I clicked into those, I finally found some of his work. Organised nerd, thy name is Peter Parker.

I clicked around, quickly growing more bored. This was not as exciting as I hoped it would be. I sighed and gave up on the laptops folders. What else could I do? I mean, I could find out more about the heroes in this world but I saw no point. I wouldn't be coming back here, ever. Wait, I wouldn't be coming back here ever…

I guess I had to find out more about the heroes in this world or Ganke would never forgive me. I would look them up… as soon I dig up some embarrassing search histories.

Just as I was about to click 'history' a hand reached out and tugged the screen down. "Aw," I whined, looking up at the culprit. They gave me a very unamused look. I held my hands up in surrender, "I was bored because you're a typical organised science geek. There was nothing interesting to look at in your computer folders."

"I do actual work on that computer. What did you honestly expect to find on here?"

"Do I really need to answer that?"

His face turned crimson red and he silently grabbed some clothes and walked out of the room. I snickered, now that was fun. Now to find out what superheroes there were.

Ten minutes later I had found out everything I really needed to know. Wikipedia was brilliant in that respect. There was a knock on the door and I was about to call out to Peter when I heard a distinctly female voice call out, "Peter? Are you in there? Time to wake up for school."

I looked around the room, crap, crappity crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap- The door squeaked open and I camouflaged. A head popped in, huh, looked like this Aunt May was much younger than the Aunt May of my world.

She looked over in my direction and I almost felt like my heart stopped by how scared I was. Camouflage isn't invisibility, there was always a slight chance of me being spotted! She frowned as she looked directly at me before seemingly passing it off, shrugged and closed the door behind her.

I slowly let myself breathe, that was terrifying. I really needed to ask Peter if Aunt May knew about his secret identity or not.

I abandoned the computer and went and got changed. Into my Spider-man suit of course, not my casual clothes. I was only being realistic because if I had learned anything, it was that life hated my guts. Want to relax? Nope, not allowed. In civilians clothes? Whoops! You can't be wearing those, you need your costume. Better yet, there will be no civilian clothes available!

A few minutes later a freshly showered Peter appeared. "So what are you going to do while I'm at school?" They asked, folding their arms nervously.

"Don't worry, I won't try and blow up your house. I'll probably patrol or something, and avoid Tony Stark. You go do nerd stuff at your school. Oh, and potentially this is my goodbye."

They stared at me for a moment (presumably processing what I had said) before saying, "If it is, bye? Good luck on getting home."

"Thanks. Also, thanks for letting me crash. Bye!"

They waved and closed the door behind them. I relaxed in the chair. So what now? The answer was obvious, but there was also tons of other things I could be doing instead of patrolling. Like… giving Tony an earful? Maybe I should make sure I have absolutely everything I would need for different universes. I had been to nice universes but with my luck, my next one would suck.

So I had a set of civilian clothes, a blanket, plenty of webbing, food and water… but I didn't have any bandages. Wait, I should double check that.

I grabbed my bag and dug around inside. Huh, Spider-woman really had thought of everything! There was a bandage in here.

Well, life gave me no choice. Patrolling it was!

* * *

Around four pm this Universes time I got the feeling again. The one where it felt like tiny pins were pricking me. I sat down on the edge of the building and waited to disappear. Here we go again.


	27. Chapter 27

When I looked down at the world I was falling into, I immediately realised two things: the buildings were crumbling and falling apart as if something really bad had happened and I couldn't see anything moving. No cars, no people, no pigeons, nothing. Not a single thing.

I swallowed, I really hoped I wouldn't meet whoever had made it this way. Or maybe it was from erosion over time and it had happened a while ago? One could hope, and I was hoping really, really hard.

Now that I thought about, I really hoped the buildings would hold together enough so I could build a web net. But, from the state of them, I had a feeling that wasn't the case. I bit my lip, now was a good of a time as any to try out my parachute making abilities.

Without delaying to worry about it, I placed my finger on the nozzle and began shooting. The web went around my finger in four streams which met at the top and a moment later I was jerked up, my descent slowing down. I grabbed the webbing and held on tight, relief flooding through me. It had worked! I didn't have to waste that much webbing on building a net! I would definitely use this method next time. Maybe I would even have lots of webbing left after this whole adventure?

From my bird's eye view, I looked again for any movement, any at all, but there was none. There was… nothing. Wait! Oh never mind, it was just a tree.

It was almost eerie looking down at the familiar landscape without seeing anything alive. It was wrong and creepy.

Something bad had happened here, something bad enough that there was nothing here. The top of a skyscraper was approaching, and I braced myself to land. With an oomph, my feet touched the ground and my parachute fluttered out behind me, sinking to the ground. I paused, checking that my spider-sense wasn't warning me that the building was unsafe (it wasn't buzzing) before walking over to the edge of the building. I kept a hand on the parachute, ready to use it just in case the building gave way beneath me.

The streets were clean, with the occasional bit of rubbish blowing around. Maybe that was creeping me out too? I would have thought with all this destruction there would have been more rubble or rubbish around. But for the most part, it was in okay condition. There was only the occasional piece of glass or rock on the pavement.

I wondered if I would hear a pin if I dropped it from this high up. It was a good thirty stories, so normally I wouldn't, but with how quiet it was…

Didn't matter anyway. In any case, I could use this silence to my advantage. If I yelled, anyone or anything would be able to hear me from a few blocks away… probably.

"Hello?" I called, my voice echoing sadly around. I tried again, even louder. Suddenly my spider-sense went off and a shiver went down my spine. I looked around for the source of it but couldn't see anything. That was… weird. It was probably the building. Probably. Maybe.

I decided to shrug it off and admit to myself that no one was around. So there wasn't anyone to ask what had happened but that wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Now, what would I do while I wait? Well, I had food, water and stuff to keep me warm. But I didn't have proper shelter or a fire. Well, I could take shelter in any number of the empty buildings around here but I had nothing to start or keep a fire with. A fire would be nice, and I could heat up something good to eat. What could I burn? And I didn't have a match to start one with. Well, I could go to a mall. There would hopefully be some clothes I could burn and there was a pretty good chance I would find a lighter there.

Now with a plan, I began webbing towards the closest mall I knew.

I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to the issue of what had happened here. What villain would do this? To the point that there was no life here? I would never understand villains that wanted to kill everyone, they always seemed to want to blabber a thousand words to you before killing you. So wouldn't they be lonely with no one to talk to besides themselves? Maybe it was a natural disaster? Or… New York somehow became unliveable? Like it was radioactive or something, which would mean I should leave. Yet, I knew if that was the case there would still be animals around. They might just be mutated in some weird way, but definitely not how it is now where they are gone entirety.

A few minutes later I was standing at the entrance to a mall. But… there was wood blocking the doors from the inside as if someone had barricaded themselves in. That was bizarre, but it gave me hope that there were other humans around. Because why would it be on the inside? If they had been closing up it would be on the outside.

I knocked on the glass as loudly as I could without it breaking. I waited a few minutes, and there were no sounds coming from the inside that would suggest human life. I snorted to myself, who was I kidding? This world was dead. However long I spent here would be lonely. I would just find a different way in here because it would be too creepy to break stuff when a pin could drop and you would hear it a block away. I also didn't want to alert some villain, you know, in case there was one around.

I eventually found another way in through the roof and as I walked inside I felt my spider-sense begin to hum. I paused, was the building going to collapse or something? I stopped in place and looked around, only for the humming to increase. I crossed my arms nervously, I didn't like this, I didn't like this one bit!

Suddenly my spider-sense yelled and I dropped to the ground, swinging a leg out behind me as I did so to knock whatever had caused it to the floor. I turned around pinned them down only to gasp in shock when I realised it was another human being. I did not expect one in this universe!

Then my Spider-sense gave a very loud warning, and I felt something cold and distinctly gun like pressed against my head. I instantly let go of the guy and held my hands up in surrender.

"Um, I'm really sorry about that, I didn't realise that there was anyone else here. Why is New York so quiet anyway?" The gun was pressed harder into my head, "and I'm going to shut up now." I bit my lip and resisted the urge to babble more.

"Told you it wasn't a zombie," the person on the ground said smugly.

My jaw dropped as the pieces fell into place, "You had a zombie apocalypse here? Is that why everything's so… quiet and crumbly?"

"Were you in a coma for the past year or something, kid?" A person behind me said, who I could tell weren't the person pressing a gun to my head as they were definitely too far back to do that, their disbelief obvious. I wanted to look at them but the gun was still pressed against my head so that definitely wasn't something I wanted to do.

"Um, well actually it's a long and quite unbelievable story… Do you want me to sum it up as best as I can?" I asked.

There was a pause where no one said anything so I quickly began to explain. "I'm currently going on a Universal trip, literally. See a Tony Stark thought he was sending me to my universe but ended up sending me to ones that definitely weren't mine. And that's how I'm here. I'll be leaving in maybe a few hours or days."

"Tony Stark? Who's Tony Stark?" One of them asked.

"Did you not have him here in this universe? Well, he's really smart. He made his own suit of armour, and an AI. Isn't that cool?" I explained.

There was a pause where they seemed to process it before one of them sighed and went, "I don't think he's lying. I mean, why make that your cover story when you could have said something really plain and simple like you've been travelling on your own."

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" I piped up.

One of them sighed and went, "Alright, fine. Come on kid, we'll bring you into our base."

"Thanks so much. A mall is a great place to hide out, by the way. Good thinking. Also, please tell me about what happened in this universe. I'm really interested."

* * *

Ten minutes later I was sitting in one of the shops. It looked like a Target of some kind, but I wasn't quite sure because the sign outside was gone and all the clothes hangers had been moved into the corners so that tents could be set up.

There were about ten people, including the three I had already met, hidden in this shop. The shop's barriers had been put down and I was currently sitting on a pile of clothes. It was a little bit lumpy, but otherwise, it was fine.

"So, what are you doing 'travelling universes' as you said? And what's up with that costume?" Edi asked. He was the one who I had pinned to the floor.

"I'm a superhero, it's kind of a thing we do?"

"Wait, hold up, you're a superhero?" Ted said, turning around to stare at me with wide eyes. He was the one who had pointed the gun at my head.

"Yeah? Don't you have those in this universe?" I questioned, tilting my head.

"We did, but most of them died pretty quickly. We had a few villains too, but only a few remain if I'm correct." One of the ones who had yet to introduce themselves commented.

"If you're actually a superhero, what are your superpowers?" Kim asked curiously. She was the third one who had been there.

I grinned. I thwiped a web at the ceiling and climbed to the top. I maneuvered my body so that my feet touched the ceiling. All of them were staring at me curiously, and I grinned cheekily. I let go of the web and a few of them gasped. Most of them had at least had their jaws dropped.

I began to casually walk along the ceiling. "So I can walk along ceilings. My webs aren't a part of me, but they're pretty useful. I also have this thing that I call a 'spider-sense.'" One of them snorted. I choose to ignore them. "It basically warns me of an attack so I can dodge it. Like when Ted pressed the gun to my head I sensed it coming. I didn't do anything because it didn't initially deem you a threat so I didn't have time to do anything, but my spider-sense did warm me."

I grinned before camouflaging, which lead to some interesting faces. "I can camouflage, and I also have this venom blast thing, which is really painful so I've heard."

Finished with my little parade, I un-camouflaged and jumped down to the floor. "So, that's me. Now can you tell me how your zombie apocalypse wiped out most of New York?"

"Well, we don't know where it came from, but the disease started out in Europe. It had devastated the majority of the population there, Asia and Africa before it got over here. At first, we tried to fight them with bullets, but they were fast." Kim began to explain.

"My theory is that the disease took over the mind and made them lose control of their strength, and what would normally limit most of us in terms of, say, speed, wasn't their anymore. Oh and I'm Jasmine." Jasmine said.

"So, basically they were humans with nothing to hold them back?" I frowned.

"Basically," Kim confirmed. "It was near impossible to beat them with guns unless you shot them in the brain. Shooting them anywhere vital would slow them down a little bit but anywhere like the arms and legs wouldn't slow them down any."

"So how are you guys not dead? And why isn't there any zombies wandering around?" I asked, glancing at the front of the shop.

"They decayed. Because of all the damage that was being down to their body and the fact that the disease killed the brain to take over their bodies, their bodies would break down. Bugs would begin attacking the body until finally, the zombie couldn't move. After the first three or so months, there were only a few hoards left. I personally had been hiding in a bunker so when there were only a few stragglers left I came out to find what had happened to everyone else. I'm Jude, by the way."

"That sounds… horrible. I'm pretty sure I would have died already if I was in this universe." I half-joked, laughing nervously.

There was a pause where everyone seemed to reflect on their past before Edi spoke up. "You never got around to explaining how you're here."

"Well, in a huge battle with a bunch of my clones a teleporter malfunctioned and I ended up in a whole different universe. That universe's Tony Stark tried to send me back to my universe but he did something wrong so now I'm jumping around the different universes until I get back to mine. So far if you include the universe I went to after the teleporter went wrong this is my fourth universe. The worst one so far, if I'm being honest." I said. I grinned down at my feet, "And honestly, that doesn't even explain my whole adventure leading up to here. Whoo boy, if I told a few weeks ago me that you would be even further from home they probably would have cried by now."

"That… is quite something." One of them said.

"Being a superhero is really weird." I agreed.

* * *

I ended up sleeping on a pile of comfy clothes in one of the tents. There were always two people on watch, which was both reassuring and worrying. I had volunteered to take watch, but my offer was turned down. I could understand why they said no, I was new so they probably wouldn't trust me and I wasn't experienced in killing zombies. I wasn't even sure if I could...

In the morning I woke up to the sound of people shuffling around outside. Unfortunately, I realised I was still in this universe.

I was about to climb out of the tent when I overheard something strange that made me pause.

"We can't tell that kid Miles, you saw how young he was! Imagine if it was your son or daughter," someone hissed.

What sounded like Ted spoke, "We can't face it on our own, and it'll just haunt us for as long as we live if we don't use this opportunity. It will probably kill us!"

"It's not right, but… you're right. Maybe they'll have a better idea on how to beat the lizard than anything we've tried before." Another person admitted in defeat.

My eyes widened. They had a lizard, the lizard here if I was correct in my assumptions, and they wanted me to help with it. I couldn't say no, their lives depended on me helping. No normal human being would be able to beat them in a close combat fight. Heck, I don't think I'll be able to beat it.

But… I would have to try. Think, think! It was unlikely my webs would hold them back, but they were a reptile. Reptile's slowed down because of the cold, so if we got something cold enough to slow him down and then we changed him back or… killed him, they would be free of him.

I walked out of the tent and immediately there were five eyes on me. I smiled nervously, "I, uh, overheard your conversation. I'm willing to help you."

One of them grabbed my shoulders and looked me square in the eyes. "You realise you could die, right? You could never go home. We can figure this out on our own."

I looked at the ground, took a deep breath and looked at all of them. "I know more about the Lizard than I think any of you do. And even with all the information I can give you, there's still a highly likely chance that we won't win. But I'm a superhero, it's in the job description to help."

"Then what do you think we should do?" Kim questioned me.

* * *

We spent the rest of the day planning our attack. We made three plans, which all revolved around when I would switch universes.

The first one was if I stayed around for the whole assault. We would get down there, I would attack them with ice (like the ice bucket challenge) before holding them down with webbing and if the webbing didn't work I would wrestle them down and keep them still long enough for a powerful anaesthetic to be administrated. We would then figure out if we could revert him back to Curt Connors, but there was a likely chance we wouldn't be able to. So if we can't we tie him up in chains and chuck him into the sea. If he could breathe underwater than we would figure out what to do from there. Probably slice him into pieces.

The second plan was if I left during the fight. The plan would be relatively the same, except for when I sense I'm about to leave. I will web the Lizard up with all the webs in my web-shooters and then the group goes and chops off his head. They would then slice him up into little bits before chucking him into the sea.

If I wasn't there at all… they would bait him out of the sewers before throwing as much ice as they could at him. They would then slice him up into little pieces and throw it into the sea. If it seemed like they wouldn't win, they would retreat into groups of two or threes and hide out until the next day where hopefully it would have given up.

I couldn't lie, I was upset that we couldn't figure out a way to stop them without killing them in nearly all of our plans, but I knew why it was necessary. One life for the survival of mankind. It was realistic to sacrifice their life when I looked at it that way. That didn't mean I was happy to do it.

That's how I ended up crouched in the middle of the street, with cooked rabbit right by my foot. We needed to lure him out, and this was the best we could do in the circumstances.

I idly stood there, my bag on my back with webs smothering it to keep it safe and in place. On my other side was a huge bucket of ice. At five other key places were some more buckets of ice. There was three in the buildings around me and the other two were 20 meters in either direction away from the entrance to the sewer.

Hiding in shops on the ground floor, with their smells hopefully disguised by a combination of soap, detergent and perfume were the surviving humans. If the lizard smelled them, they wouldn't be able to hide or sneak up on it while I fought it.

I was ready, if anxious. I mean, I knew that the lizard was hungry. It had eaten nearly all the zombies and animals around here. It would likely see me as food, too. But I had fought some crazy villains before, I could do this. Maybe. Hopefully.

I heard the entrance to the sewer creak and I braced myself. Slowly, very slowly, the lid was moved up until two slitted yellow eyes were staring at me from the darkness.

"Foooooddd," it whispered, so quiet I wouldn't have heard it if it wasn't for my enhanced senses.

"Come out and get this yummy food," I crooned as I reached down and picked up the bucket of ice.

My spider-sense yelled at me to move as the lizard jumped out of the sewers. I chucked the ice at it before diving to the side. The lizard ignored me, instead, it grabbed the rabbit and swallowing it all in one bite.

I didn't let myself pause in hesitation, or else I might have frozen up in terror. That rabbit was the width of my thigh! Instead, I lunged for the lizard and zapped him before leaping into the air and webbing myself over to a building. It turned to growl at me, but before it could make a move towards me, it fell to the ground as my venom blast took effect.

I waited a moment, watching the heavy breathing and twitching before jumping down to the ground. I walked over, cautious but still confident. I extended my hand to wrap it up in webs but just as I pressed down on the nozzle my spider-sense **screeched** at me.

Before I could even attempt to get away it grabbed my leg, pulling it towards itself and forcing me to the ground and bit into me.

Hard.

I screamed in agony, feeling and hearing my bone crunch. Adrenaline and panic taking hold I kicked it as hard as I could, forcing it to let go of my foot. It growled at me but before it had the chance to attack me again I flipped myself upright and at the same moment shot a web at the nearest building, pulling myself up as fast as I could.

I stayed there, just out of reach of the creature. Oh god, oh god that hurt. I was scared to even look at the wound. I knew that when I had gotten it off of me I had also caused the teeth to be dragged through my flesh. Swallowing down my fear I lifted my leg a bit higher and shot some webbing around it, using it as a make-shift bandage. From what I had seen, the muscle was a bit loose and it was bleeding heavily.

I looked back at it, how the hell was I supposed to beat it when I hadn't even had the chance to move out of the way before it had grabbed my leg? I had to fight smarter, or something.

The pain wasn't helping me think properly.

I focused back in on the lizard, it had been watching me before but it was now sniffing the air and licking its lips. Oh hell no, it might be picking up on the survivor's scents. I didn't have time to plan, this was a fight, not an exam.

Swallowing down my fear, I swung back down, grabbing a bucket on the way, and as the swing went over the lizards head I dropped it onto its face. It landed it open side down, ice falling onto its body. It roared its fury at its temporary blindness, and I used it as an opportunity to swing around and kick it squarely in the guts.

The blow was hard enough to send both of us falling on to the road and I immediately tried to web up its arms or legs. I wasn't fast enough. My spider-sense went off shrilly but I only had enough time to try and get off of it before it had backhanded me through the window of a shop. The crash forced glass into my back, further embedded by me rolling several times before I came to a stop.

I felt light-headed. I was losing blood, wasn't I? Through the pain, I struggled to get back up again.

I was so in over my head. There was no one but the survivors to help me. But I couldn't stop fighting. They would die. But I might die at this rate.

The fate of humanity in this world was more or less laying in how hard I fought. There were no other super-heroes but me here.

I wanted to cry.

I got to my hands and knees, shaking badly. I absently reached up to my chest as I saw blood pooling on the ground. I felt something warm and sticky there. I was bleeding from my chest.

I heard something crunching, probably the glass. Why would the glass be crunching? I looked up in time to see a green scaly hand reaching for me. I tried to jerk out of the way but it grabbed my head and lifted me into the air.

Its palm was covering my whole face. I couldn't see, I couldn't breathe! I can't breathe! I can't breathe! **I can't** **breathe**!

I thrashed frantically, punching the hand holding me and trying to kick out at anything. As I desperately tried to venom blast it, do something, it grabbed that hand and pierced its claws into it.

I didn't have the breath to scream, but tears fell down my face.

Something must have happened because there was a twist of gravity before I hit a wall with a wet thunk. I fell to the ground, twitching and gasping for breath, but my vision was swirling and I struggled to find the will to get up and continue fighting. I didn't have the energy, but I had to.

My spider-sense went off again as the Lizard was suddenly upon me. It's claws digging into my chest as if it was trying to tear a chunk out. My voice went hoarse with my scream.

I felt warm, I felt cold, I felt a buzzing energy fill me up as I grew weaker from the pain

Everything was numb, everything was painful.

 **Everything was overwhelming.**

There was a feeling of something happening, something from me, and I almost passed out as there was a loud bang and the sound of things hitting the ground.

I lay there on the ground, twitching and gasping for breath, vision swirling and growing steadily darker.

I heard someone scream, the whirring of some sort of machine, a cry of pain and then something being splattered across the room.

There was something touching me. I tried to protest it, to move them out of the way. Was it the Lizard? I had to fight them, I had to-

To-

Something was being pressed into my side. I hoarsely whimpered in pain.

I don't want to die, please don't let me die, I'm going to die, **I want to go home** , I can't die like this, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, **I'm sorry.**

Then everything went dark, despite my best efforts to stay awake.


	28. Chapter 28

Pain.

Pain, **pain** , **pain**.

Whispers?

Pain.

Moving.

Moving?

 **Pain.**

Dark

* * *

Pressure.

Pain.

Prick, pain...?

Shouts?

Whispers.

"Thank you."

Numb.

* * *

Pain.

Light. Ceiling. Shadow.

"You awake?"

Small nod. Pain.

"You're not in the clear. Hang in there, kid."

Black.

* * *

Numbing pinpricks of pain.

Pain.

I'm going to...

"I'm going to-"

Flash.

Falling. Pain.

Falling. Pain.

Falling. **Pain.**

Twist in the air. Parachute, parachute.

Jolt. **PAIN**.

Buildings. A world.

Black.

* * *

I slowly came around. Pain laced through me from head to foot, enough to make me groan out loud. It hurt to do even that, as my throat was beyond parched.

I moved the arm that didn't hurt as badly to my head, absently rubbing my forehead in an attempt to lessen the headache that was already forming.

I attempted to open my eyes, but the world spun around me at a dizzying rate so I closed my eyes again. I really didn't want to add any more pain to my already aching body.

What happened to me...? Oh, oh yeah. The Lizard. It really had taken a lot out of me, huh. If I ever face off with him in my universe, I'm going to call the Ultimates first. Was I home yet? I wasn't sure.

Since I wasn't opening my eyes at least for a few minutes, I decided instead to focus on my other senses. I could smell something delicious in the air… waffles? I'm pretty sure it was waffles. I could hear dishes being washed too. I shifted to the side, the clothes I was wearing ruffling over what felt like freshly washed sheets. Whatever I was lying on wasn't lumpy, in fact, it was very comfy.

I also realised that I didn't have my suit on, and instead what felt like bandages wrapped around me in various places and a comfy but lose shirt and pants. So someone had taken care of me and had fixed me up. I'm pretty glad that they had, because oh boy, I hadn't had the chance during the fight to assess my injuries beyond 'holy hell they hurt' and 'I can feel blood.' And then I basically passed out so I wasn't in good shape.

Now to find out if whoever had fixed me up was friendly. I sincerely hope it isn't some big bad who wants to do something evil and it somehow involves me. I was very done with that, like so done that I would just groan and punch someone. Who cares if they're going to kill me for escaping? It's better than being brainwashed or forced to do something crappy.

So, finally, I slowly began to open my eyes, determined to figure out what life would have in store for me next. I immediately noticed that the ceiling was not in new condition. In fact, I'm pretty sure that was the start of mould in the corner…

I glanced around from my position, and huh. I was on a bed. In a bedroom. Admittedly it was kind of small, but what else was new? It's New York. So I guessed that I probably wasn't in an evil secret person's house. Bad guys always seemed to have lots of money.

Now for the real question, was I back in my universe or a completely different one?

With stubborn determination I lifted myself up to a sitting position, breathing heavily in pain because ow, my chest and arms and body hated me. I swung my legs over the side and when I tried to put weight on my injured leg it hurt like hell and I actually yelped in pain. Whoops.

The door swung open and I immediately knew I wasn't in my universe. There was a guy dressed up in a fancy skin-tight costume. There was a spider on his chest, but no webs going out from it. His eyes were black and so was most of his suit. Very scary, I really hoped they weren't like that spidey from the first world.

"You're awake, how are you doing?" they asked, folding their arms and leaning against the door frame.

"Um, pretty sore. Like I got hit by a bus at least two times. How did I get here? You were the one who stitched me up, right?" I asked, studying them.

"I found you bleeding out on my rooftop so I brought you here. How did you get so hurt?" They replied. They could have just said 'yes I did' but whatever.

"Well, short version or long version?" I asked. They simply stared at me so I decided to go with the short version. "Well, I was fighting The Lizard in a universe where zombies had killed nearly everyone. I beat him, at least I'm pretty sure, but it beat me up. Man, he was fast. Does that help?"

They took a few steps towards me as they said, "So you're telling me that you were in a universe where there were zombies?"

"Yeah, I get how absolutely insane I sound but please take my word for it. I've been jumping around a bunch of universes because of a whole series of events that frankly I don't want to get in to."

They rubbed their forehead but seemed to give in. "I've got waffles if you want some?"

I eagerly nodded and moved to get up but they quickly stopped me, pushing me back onto the bed. "Don't put weight on that leg, you need to give it a few more hours at least before your healing factor will be able to handle it before ."

I frowned, "How do you know I have a healing factor?"

"I saw your wounds from the glass seal up in about half an hour after I took out any glass remaining. A normal human wouldn't be able to do that." They answered as they walked into the kitchen and came back with my breakfast.

"Oh… How long was I out?" I decided to ask, instead of the twenty questions about his costume and his powers and what this universe was like that popped into my head.

"Eighteen hours or so. Eat slowly or you'll be sick."

* * *

After I had consumed five waffles I felt full and relaxed. I honestly hadn't been expecting to get this sort of treatment for my wounds. I mean, I thought that I would have had to go to a hospital in whatever universe I was in, but thanks to the power of landing on someone's roof that had the skills to wrap me up I was all good.

I had a feeling that I had been treated for some of my injuries when I had still been in the zombie universe. I knew I had had a cut or something when I was... when I hit the wall. But there wasn't any injury when I felt around for one. I knew that with all of my injuries I had been healing for at least a couple of days for it to have reached this point.

My leg was swollen and the bite wound was surrounded by heavy and dark bruising. The bite marks there were beginning to scab or scar over. My arm was in a similar state, except the claw marks looked a lot worse than my leg. Both of them hurt quite a bit but I could handle it. The one that was going to be the worst, and would probably scar, was my chest wound. On the area over my heart was where it was worst, as some bits of my skin and muscle were quite loose and struggling to bleed. It was still sluggishly bleeding in parts there. On my right side, it was a cleaner cut, as his claws had more or less just caught while the lizard had thrown me, but some parts were still jagged. Over my body, there were small marks from where glass had punctured me that had scarred over by now. Parts of the rest of me also had carpet burns from where I had been thrown around. I also had a small cut from where my face had hit the wall and some ripped out hair.

Overall, I looked like I had been running from a bear, got hit by a train and then torn into by the bear while a deer stomped all over me. I was beyond thankful that I had a healing factor. I would have bled out and died if I was a normal human. Or at least I'd have to recover for a few months in a bed.

I decided I needed a shower, because dried flakes of my blood were all over me and frankly it was gross. I also had to find my backpack and see where my suit was at. Probably unusable.

I gingerly placed my leg on the ground, taking a few deep breaths before placing weight on it. It hurt like fire, but after a few seconds of deep breathing, I was able to take a few steps. Every step was nearly unbearable, but I knew I had to get these things done before I left for a new world. But after being doing this thing for over a year or something I was used to bruises. That was probably a bad thing.

I ended up taking a longer shower than I normally had, which was to be expected. I had cleaned and redressed the wounds with new bandages, which had definitely taken quite a while.

After all of that, I walked out into the main room, finding it in a similar state to the room. Not that big, not that small with the walls threatening to grow mould. I spotted my bag in a corner and quickly went over to it. I dug around in the bag and changed into my spare clothes and put my web shooters on. I guessed that Spider-man had put it in once the web had dissolved from around my bag.

I guess someone had been smart enough to make sure I was at least holding on to my bag when I teleported.

As I was standing back up again, putting my bag on my back, I saw something glinting in the light. I looked over and was startled to find a gun in plain sight, leaning against the wall. What was that doing there? I mean, maybe this Spider-man had been patrolling and had taken it from a bad guy but…

Something in my gut told me that was far from the truth.

"That's my favourite one, it's an AS50. What do you think?" I jumped and whirled around, openly staring in shock at this Spider-man. My body protested the sudden movement a moment later.

"W-what do you mean it's your favourite one? Spider people are good guys, we don't kill-"

"I kill, it's called being an assassin."

"Why aren't you a hero?"

"I saw that there are other ways to be a hero." He replied, placing his hands on his hips.

"But… why would you kill people? You hurt people's family, what about…" What would Peter say? "What about Uncle Ben?"

"Don't say his name!" Spider-man roared. I flinched away, wary that if they really wanted to hurt me they could. I was in no state to fight, but I would if I had to.

At the very least it proved that it was indeed Peter Parker underneath the costume.

"I'm just trying to say that you have a lot of power-"

"I'm using my powers responsibly, I'm killing the bad guys, instead of keeping them alive so that they can just kill another person. They don't change-"

"You don't know if they'll change or not! They could move on and do something useful. You don't know what lead them to be in that place. Maybe they were blackmailed or forced to do whatever they're doing and you're killing what's basically a defenceless human!"

"You don't know who I kill! Besides, they won't change. I know they won't."

"You don't know that! Even Uncle Aaron could have changed! My dad did." My spider-sense hummed warningly as this Spider-man took a menacing step forward. I took my own step back, lowering into a more defensive crouch even as my body began to heavily protest.

"They don't change, or at least most of them don't. Why risk it? Why is one person's death worth more than ten others to you? But you'll learn soon enough. Who's to say you haven't already killed someone without knowing?" I flinched,"But, while you're here," my spider-sense went up a notch and I braced myself, "-in my apartment which I have been kind enough to stitch you up in, you don't question why I do things the way I do."

I was about to concede and give up, when the pin prickles started. A surge of reckless confidence rose up in me and it was enough to give me the courage to square my shoulders and say, "You're a coward for giving in. Killing is easy, but killing is not always the answer. If you can't see that-" Spider-man raised his fist, "-then you're the one who won't change."

As he swung at me, aiming for my face, a flash of light swamped me and once again I was falling through the air. I made a parachute in a matter of seconds and then let myself be carried slowly down.

Here we go again.

As I was falling through the air I noted that this world was teeming with people. Which meant that I wouldn't have to wonder what had happened and I could get help if I was about to die at the hands of a lizard. You know, just superhero problems.

I landed smoothly on top of a roof, where I bundled up my parachute and hid it in a corner. I briefly wondered what would happen if I just let it float around. It would probably get blown off the top and fall either on to another building or the streets below. If that happened… then it might go over someone and that would be very funny. Kind of. Not really. It could go over a car too and that wouldn't be good.

I shook my head and wandered over to the edge, peering over. I had gotten some attention but not too much. Only a few people had looked up, which in New York terms was about twenty. I didn't have a costume so I decided against swinging around. If I did that would be bad, phones were good for many things but not for me right now. Well, if it wasn't my universe then it would be fine. No one would be able to go after my family and Hydra wouldn't immediately go after me.

Seriously, I was so done with them. I was now behind at school by two months. Two months! That meant I would have to spend my holidays catching up on it or something. It was so unfair.

Anyway, I climbed down the side of the building camouflaged, ignoring the pain it cause me, and when I was close enough to the ground I hopped off and walked onto the pathway. First things first, find out what has happened to this universe's Peter Parker.

That should tell me if I was home or not. I mean, if he was dead and there was a lot of stuff about him dying that would tell I was likely home. Then from there I can google me and find the articles about me being gone. If he wasn't dead then I wasn't home. Simple really.

I kept my head down, pulling my hoodie up to obscure my face somewhat. I hurried along to the closest library I thought might be around and went to the first free computer I found.

I went into the search bar and searched up Peter Parker. I clicked enter and waited impatiently for it to load. I had a schedule here! I didn't, but it could not be any slower.

Finally, it loaded and it said something about Peter Parker being an employee of the Bugle. Nope, not home. I wondered how they were faring with that job… considering the Bugle hated anything red, blue and spider-themed.

I grabbed my stuff and wandered out of the library. So, what should I do now? I couldn't exactly go say hi to this Peter. I could, but that would be weird. I could go crime fighting… but I didn't have my costume on me. It wouldn't affect my secret identity, but I don't think any robbers would take me as seriously without a costume. Well… they didn't take me seriously with it anyway.

And I was pretty hurt, but if I kept a careful watch on the injuries I should be ok.

What did I have to lose?

* * *

The sun had set and I had just finished wrapping up a group of robbers who had been trying to break into a bank. They had been pretty easy to take down, they didn't even have guns for crying out loud! All they had were baseball bats. Robbers these days.

I turned to one of the bank employees. "Can you call the police?" They nodded a few times, looking pretty shaken. I smiled a reassuringly as I could before deciding that that was taking care of. I walked out with a "Thanks."

I climbed the side of a building as soon as I thought I could and sat down on the ledge. My stomach rumbled and I sighed, I was hungry but I didn't really want to play Russian roulette with my food, the bullet being something disgusting. As I opened my bag I heard a loud 'bang' and when I looked up I could hear a blaring alarm going off and lights flashing. Probably a bank and an explosion.

Never mind, life had other plans, besides eating, for me.

I closed it up, put the bag on my back and webbed it up tight. I then webbed myself in the general direction of the explosion. I had a strong feeling that this would turn in to a big superhero fight. Which was not what I needed when I was still healing.

But I was a hero and this is what heroes did, go out of their way to help others even at the cost of your own wellbeing. Which sucked but whatever.

I swung into the scene and my eyes widened. Oh hell no. This was the opposite of what I needed!

Before my very eyes, Sandman was facing off against police officers who were trying to stop him with bullets. Which wasn't working too well. He was made out of sand, what would bullets do?

The universe had something against me, I'm sure of it. It went 'you know what we should do? Make Miles face a villain that was probably out of their league when they weren't at full capacity or with a costume. And make him hungry too!' I mean, come on! It was so unfair!

Sandman, with what looked like jewels, bracelets and other shiny things in their body surged like a wave towards the police officers who cried out in alarm. That was my cue.

"I've got this!" I yelled at the police officers, which caused everyone on the scene to pause in surprise, including dusty butt. I quickly used this opportunity to swing down and punch the growing mound before flipping out of the way. Seconds later a fist smashed into the ground right where I had been, causing the ground to shake.

Yep, completely out of my league. Please, **please** let there be other superheroes in this world.

I lunged forward, narrowly curving out of the way of a punch, and kicked it in the face. My leg went straight through and my spider-sense yelled in warning. Before I could try to stop it, Sandman had grabbed me by my leg.

He rose up, still holding my leg, and laughed at me as I tried to tug myself out of his grip. At the very least I was thankful that he had grabbed my uninjured leg.

"Nice try, kid. But it'll take more than that to stop me." He said. His voice was very grating, and I hated it.

"I'll have you know-" before I could finish, he threw me towards the policemen. I twisted in the air and managed to land heroically on the windshield of a car. Huh, didn't know I could do that.

"It'll take more than that to stop me too, John Blund." I countered, jumping back at him. He tried to punch me but I ducked under his blow and went for a venom strike. His sand surged to the side and he grabbed me by the feet, again.

He slammed me into the ground before throwing me to the side. I suddenly crashed into a window and rolled several times before coming to a stop. What was it with villains and throwing me through windows? Or at least Grade A… (B?) villains?

I got to my feet, ignoring how my shirt had torn open at the front and I now had new cuts from the glass. Including my chest wound, which had decided it was a convenient time to open up again. Nothing new on my back because of my backpack and I wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse.

I ignored it all in favour of getting up and running back at Sandman, only to stop in shock when I saw someone punching it in the face. They flipped over him and jumped on to the side of a building. Sandman went to punch them but I ran up and zapped them.

Three… "Haha, you thought that would stop me? What'd you think tapping would do, kid?"

Two… "Oh I know I can't beat you, but this probably will."

One… Sandman exploded into a pile of sand with all the stuff he had stolen scattered across the ground. I looked over at the police officers, who had been watching everything, and said, "You can come collect all the stuff now."

The other person who had joined in the fight jumped down. I stared at them as I realised several things at once.

They were wearing looked like some kind of armour (it was mostly blue with the headpiece being red), it had a spider symbol on it and they were definitely smaller than me.

"Who are you?" She asked. Her voice was kind of squeaky, so I was pretty much positive that she was younger than me.

"I'm Miles Morales, I'm from a different universe where I'm Spider-man. Who are you?"

"Spiderling. All my friends are gonna be so jealous when I tell them I meet someone from a different universe!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in victory.

I chuckled, "I guess they will be. Are you old enough to be fighting crime?"

"I'm nine! And Mum and Dad said I could." She huffed.

I put my hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Say, is your dad Peter Parker?" I asked quietly.

Suddenly someone landed in the middle of us and punched me in the face. I stumbled back, cursing my spider-sense for not warning me, while Spiderling gasped in shock.

"What was that for?" I asked, rubbing my cheek. I looked up and froze as I saw a familiar red and blue costume.

"How do you know who I am?" Peter hissed, grabbing me by the shirt and lifting me up.

"Ow, ow, **ow**! That's where I'm hurt, oww…!" I cried, and Peter hesitantly put me down. I looked down, yep that was blood seeping through my hoodie. It hurt like hell too.

"Look, I'm Spider-man from a different universe. No, I don't have my costume at the moment because it got completely ruined, and I know who you are because Peter's tend to wear that. Except for the last one I met, they wore a different one." I rambled, deciding to ignore my chest for the time being. Even though it hurt. Even though I should get it checked out as soon as I could.

Someone else landed beside Peter and crossed their arms. "Who's this?" Their costume was similar to Peter's and had red where he normally did, but white where the blue normally was.

"I'm Miles, I've been jumping across universes and I'm kind of bleeding here," I answered, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. Could they at least try and overhear things I said not two seconds ago?

Peter sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I've got a medkit close by. I'll help you with it."

"Thanks. And don't worry, you didn't reopen it. You just made it worse." I tried to say soothingly, then cringed.

Spiderling put her hands on her hips, "You're terrible at reassuring people."

I nodded in agreement.

I thwipped a web and let it attach to a nearby building when I remembered that I was hurt, so this would hurt like a son of a gun, but it was necessary. If I wanted to get any better I had to first experience some pain.

After three blocks we finally stopped at a building. I got up there as fast as I could, cursing my wounds, and tore my bag out of its webs. I put it on the ground before I took my hoodie off.

I winced, and not just from the pain of taking off my hoodie. The wound was slowly oozing blood, and it looked like it had been closing over when it was opened again so it was shallower than when I was in the last universe but it still looked pretty bad.

The white and red Spider-woman winced in sympathy when she saw it. "That looks pretty nasty. How'd you manage to get that?"

"The Lizard. Turns out fighting him with no proper backup was a bad idea. Didn't have much of a choice though." I explained. She nodded slowly, with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Found it!" I heard Peter exclaim and he quickly came over. He opened the bag and quickly dug around in it where he finally found what he was looking for. A red towel. He wiped away the blood around my chest as quickly as he could before grabbing a bottle of something and dumping it on my chest. I hissed in pain, that just made it sting! I was guessing it was alcohol of some kind.

Then he grabbed out a bandage and wrapped around my chest a few times. He ended up using the whole roll. He tucked the end in and then pinned it in place. Satisfied, he stepped back.

"There you go, all better." He said.

I stared down at it for a few moments before looking up at him. "You've done that a few times, haven't you?"

"Just a couple." He said, and it was obvious to me that he did on a regular basis. There was no other way that he would be so sure of himself when doing it otherwise.

I went to the edge of the building, and that's when I started to feel the pins and needles. "Dang it, I'm about to go." I chucked my blood-stained hoodie on and grabbed my bag, "Thanks, and bye!


	29. Chapter 29

With a flash and bang, I began to fall towards this new world's ground. I let myself fall for a bit before I turned my head towards the sky and built a web parachute. I held on to the webs as tightly as I could while I observed the ground.

There were plenty of cars driving around. When I looked into the distance I saw what definitely looked like the S.H.I.E.L.D triskelion. So, it bore a pretty good resemblance to my world.

Hopefully, it was my world.

As I grew closer to the top of a skyscraper I could distantly see people looking up at me. Then I remembered that, oh yeah, I didn't have my costume on so it probably looked weird seeing a guy falling from the sky without a plane or anything which they would have jumped from. Actually, now that I thought about it I wondered if there was a noticeable flash and bang whenever I jumped worlds. There would probably be at least a flash of light. But at the very least in the last universe, they had been either desensitised to weird stuff or that didn't happen. But I was guessing a bang since there were quite a few people looking at me.

So, they probably were freaked out. Maybe a little bit.

I landed smoothly on the top of the skyscraper and my parachute drifted out behind me. I quickly bundled it up and put it in the corner of the rooftop where it could dissolve. I went and looked over the edge of the building. There were a few cop cars and a crowd of people.

Web-swinging would be the best way to get out of here, but I really didn't want to. It hurt enough before and I didn't want to risk my bandages unravelling. So how was I going to get anywhere? I could break into this building and head down that way. I could blend into the crowd relatively easily. It would also take me longer to get anywhere, though. I didn't have any money, nor did I have my subway card. I could only walk and it looked like I was in Manhattan.

And my hoodie did still have dried blood and tears in it. So I probably wouldn't be as inconspicuous as I would hope.

And if this was my home, I could risk Hydra getting me. I was a nobody as Miles, and nobody Miles couldn't start flipping around like Spider-man if I was caught in a fight. Someone might go after my family if the dots were connected. And by that knowledge, I couldn't web swing around either. I didn't have anything to cover my face. Well, they probably already knew all about my family if they had identified me.

What was I supposed to do?

I heard a whoosh sound behind me and whirled around to find an Iron Man suit touching down on the roof. I wanted to back away a bit, but I was so close to the edge that the only place to go was down. I opted to rub the back of my neck nervously

"Uh, hey Tony. Or at least I'm assuming you're a Tony. How's it going?"

His suit opened and he stepped out. There were heavy lines under his eyes and he looked like he hadn't slept in a few days. What seemed like frustration, and maybe worry, seeped in waves from him.

"That's it? You come back in one piece and that's all you have to say? I thought you died!" He yelled, and I glanced down towards the ground. Jumping really did seem like the best option right now.

And I was back home, that was cool.

"Um, well I'm here now. I didn't die…" I murmured, feeling wary.

"Where were you? Did Hydra get you? Did you go to somewhere completely bizarre? Why did you appear with a flash of light in the sky? Huh?" He demanded, throwing his hands in the air. Theory confirmed, I do go to new worlds with a spectacle.

"Look, I can explain everything. Hydra didn't get me and it was bizarre but I dealt with it. I'm fine! I didn't die, I mean I nearly died but I'm nearly all better now. So, please just calm down and I'll explain right here right now." I babbled

Tony took a few deep breaths before nodding at me to continue.

"I went to a few alternate universes-"

"You **what**?" He shouted and I cringed.

"Well, um, turns out a teleporter malfunctioning somehow resulted in me going to another universe. Who knew, right? Not me, but maybe you would be able to figure it out. I mean, I met another version of you and he seemed to have the whole going to other universes thing down-pact." I continued, staring down at my feet.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to need a drink. Do you want a lift to the Triskelion?"

"Yes please."

* * *

I ended up seated in an office with all of the Ultimates and an intimidating looking Fury, all watching me like hawks.

I couldn't tell what either Black Widow or Spider-woman were thinking because Black Widow was… well, Black Widow and Spider-woman had a mask on. Thor had a concerned frown on his face and I couldn't tell if that was good or bad for me. Hawkeye was cleaning an arrow and had an aurora of not really caring that much. But this was Hawkeye, he was probably covering up whatever he was thinking like Black Widow. Tony Stark was sipping a drink of something alcoholic, I hadn't asked what type it was and, honestly, I didn't want to know. It was probably strong. Captain America looked like he was trying to be almost indifferent, with a stony face, but his eyes betrayed what looked like guilt. I was guessing it had something to do with the Peter Parker, the one who died. Bruce Banner wasn't around at the moment. Maybe it had something to do with him being the Hulk but I didn't know.

They all wanted to hear about my adventure. This would be so much fun, I would just love to have to explain to them how I nearly died. All of them would have probably made better choices than me in all situations. They probably would have found the Avengers quicker and made sure that that Tony Stark actually had all the info he needed.

I think the only thing that I could do better than almost everyone was making a safety net or parachute to fall into. Except for Spider-woman. Spider-woman probably would have outclassed me in some way.

I cleared my throat nervously. "So, uh, as Tony probably told you all I went on a bit of a trip across multiple dimensions. Um, so I'll start with the first universe I went to. It had way more heroes then this one. Like you would walk down the street and see at least two. I meet this Spider-man who was a bit older than that Peter Parker we met that one time and he was a really big jerk. I, um, I challenged him to get me home before all the other superhero scientists and then the Tony of that world won."

I glanced in Tony's direction and found him taking a gulp of his drink.

"He kind of messed up a bit, but not in the worst case scenario sort of way. It was more… inconveniencing? Kind of? I didn't come here and instead ended up in a world where Reed Richards was young and black and good, and there was a Spider-woman with a white costume. They helped me gather up a bunch of supplies-" I motioned towards my backpack that was sitting by my feet, "and then I left. I went to another world where that Peter Parker had a young Aunt May, or younger than here, and he referred to you, Tony, as "Mr Stark." His costume was cool too. I stayed there a night. Then I ended up in a Zombie Apocalypse world."

I saw many of them sit up a bit straighter. They were definitely paying attention now. I would have too if I were in there position.

"Luckily I didn't personally see any zombies but New York was a ghost town. There was no one around except for a few people I met. From what they told me, the virus spread so quickly that it devastated the world fairly quickly, but it had happened a few months before so most of the zombies had decomposed. The ones that had been left in New York were… eaten by The Lizard. The lizard had been eating anything it could get its hands on, including pets, pigeons, zombies and it was turning its attention towards the group of survivors."

I took a deep breath. I would have to show them my wounds and frankly, I didn't want to. They might think less of me as a superhero. Maybe they would even try and ban me from being one. But I had to give a proper account, tell them the truth. I mean, I could try and lie but at least three people in this room knew how to spot a liar.

"I decided to help them get rid of it, cause then they could lead a better life or something. So… When I fought it… it managed to hurt me pretty bad. We won, but I think I was really close to dying. I'm not even sure how I beat it, I think the survivors stepped in when they realised I was more or less out of the fight. I have no idea how long I was there before I went to the next universe, I don't even remember teleporting there, but the Spider-man of that world stitched me up further and he told me I had been asleep for nearly a whole day before I woke up."

I saw Black Widow twitch but otherwise seemingly remained neutral, Hawkeye stopped cleaning his arrow for a few moments before continuing, Tony had another drink and Captain America's frown deepened. Spider-woman shuffled around in the chair, maybe trying to do something to distract themselves. Fury didn't so much as raise an eyebrow.

"But, um, turns out he was an assassin and I may have raised the issue of why he was killing? I, uh, I would have had to fight him if I didn't disappear from that world as he swung at me. Then I went to another world and met a whole family of Spider people. Their kid was like nine or something and frankly, I'm surprised that the kid was allowed to fight the Sandman with me. Oh, uh, yeah the Sandman of that world was robbing a shop or something and I decided to fight him and my… chest wound opened up and Peter helped fix it up. And that's my little adventure."

There was a pregnant pause, where everyone seemed to mull that over in their head. Finally, Fury asked me, "How many days were you jumping around worlds?"

"Um, five and uh… three… maybe six? And two so... I was jumping around worlds for maybe two weeks. Why?"

Surprisingly Black Widow was the first to speak up. "You were only gone for four days here."

My eyes widened. Four days? I thought it would have been longer but I guess I was just thankful it wasn't long enough for them to give up hope on finding me. If they had, they would have had to call Mum and Dad.

I would not have envied whoever had to tell them. And they might have had to tell them about me being Spider-man and that would be a horrible way for them to find out about me. What would they have told the public? Would the public find out? Maybe they would leave it to my parents to decide. What about Dad say? Maybe he would hate me for being Spider-man…

My thoughts were interrupted by Fury. "Since the news has broadcasted the story of you being missing, we've organised a cover story for you. We are going to tell the public that Hydra got you. You aren't the first kid to get kidnapped by them. You are the first to get out of there without the Ultimates helping, or dying, however. You should be proud of that."

I looked down at my feet, it didn't really feel like an accomplishment. "Uh, thanks."

Fury continued, keeping his face stony. "Do your injuries require medical attention?"

"I don't think so. Everything is healing up nicely-"

"Kid, let's get this over with. Show us your wounds." Hawkeye said, looking up for a moment before going back to the arrow.

I bit my lip. "Uh, alright then." I lifted my leg on to the table and rolled my pants up. It was one massive purple-y blue mark. It covered a good portion of my calf. The actual wound was still covered up by bandages, "I was bitten there-" I showed them the back of my neck where there were some thin markings from when it had been covering my face, "He clawed me there-" I hesitated a moment before taking my hoodie off. I pointed to my arm which I could tell was now closed up, even though there was still heavy bruising around the bandages, "and I was clawed there. And under these bandages are some claw marks. It's pretty shallow now I think. I'm pretty sure it'll scar over but it's fine now."

"That was quite a fight," Spider-woman remarked, deadpan, and I chuckled.

* * *

The car parked outside of my house. The car was discreet, it was an Audi of some kind and it looked pretty flash. But a flash in shiny and newer looking car sort of way, not in the sort of a way a squad car would be. It was black and the windows were tinted.

Something was put in my lap, and when I looked down I realised it was a briefcase. I looked at Spider-woman and was kind of annoyed that I couldn't see her expression because her mask was on. I couldn't tell if it was something good or not just by looking at it because I couldn't exactly see its contents.

"There are about five costumes in there for you, so you won't run out of any anytime soon." She explained. I smiled, that sorted out my issue of not having a costume.

"Thanks, I needed a new set," I said. There was a pause, and she looked down at her lap.

"You gave us all a scare, Miles. We thought you had died in that explosion. You need to be more careful." She said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I looked at where her eyes would be, and I could faintly see her eyes through the lens. They looked worried and sad. "None of us wanted to lose you, especially after… you know who."

"I did try to get out of there as fast as I could-" I started, but she interrupted me.

"We know, but you also tried to save a clone before you got out of harm's way. It's a hard lesson to learn, but you need to be a priority as well. You were saving clones of yourself that were going to die in a few weeks anyway. You should have gotten yourself out of there before you could have died." She said gently.

I clenched and unclenched my fist a few times before I replied. "My life isn't more important than anyone else's. You can't expect me to stay out of harm's way. Being a superhero is all about putting yourself in harm's way to protect others!"

She sighed, "I'm not saying to stop being a superhero, and I'm not saying you shouldn't try and rescue everyone. What I am saying is that you need to think of yourself as well. If something is too big for you, get help. If you can't… evaluate the situation and do what you can without dying." She pleaded.

I slowly nodded, and she sagged with relief. "Thank you. Now good luck. If you need my help with anything, and I mean anything, call me. Even if you just want to chat about school but don't want to talk to your friends, talk to me."

"Sure." I opened the door, but before I stepped out I turned to look at her one last time. "Am I making the right decision?" I whispered.

"Only time will tell," she whispered back. I slowly nodded and then stepped out of the car. I closed the door and as soon as I was on the sidewalk she was gone.

I turned back to look at my home. I couldn't believe I was home, after what was about two months for me and a little under two for this world. Life wouldn't go back to the way it used to be, I knew that. I would be an idiot to think it would.

But... I was home.

This had been the only thing I had wanted to return to for all this time. I had just wanted to say goodbye properly, to look them in the eyes and let them know that I was okay and I was going to get home. Even if they rejected me, if they decided that what I had become was too… different for them, I would bear that load. I would just be happy to see them one last time and be able to tell them everything.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, I walked up to the door. It seemed so surreal. I could almost imagine this to be a fever dream and I was all the way back at Hydra sleeping. But I knew I wasn't. I had pinched myself on the way here just to be sure.

After I had taken a few deep breaths, I rang the doorbell and stepped back. I heard the small tune in the house but after a minute of no sound in the house to indicate that anyone was around I knew that they weren't home yet.

I grabbed the spare set of keys from under the welcome mat and unlocked the front door. I replaced the keys before walking in and locked the door behind me. When I looked around I realised that nothing much had changed. I mean, the typical stuff like the remote and plates had been shuffled around but for the most part, everything was the same. No furniture had been moved. The window still had that smudge on it from when I left to fight some baddies.

And I didn't know how to feel about that. A part of me was relieved, another part felt apprehensive and nervous.

I slowly walked into my bedroom and I found it untouched. That figurine was still knocked over and my bed was unmade. It was like it was frozen in time. I went to pick it up when my arm protested a little which reminded me that I was still in my sweaty, blood-stained clothes. I chucked my bag on the ground and threw off all my clothes. I chucked them in the wash before I went to have a quick shower.

I turned the shower on and while I waited for the temperature to change to something nice I remembered that I would have to take off my bandages. Sighing, I grabbed a new roll of bandages before I slowly unravelled my chest wound. As more and more of the wound was exposed I noticed that again it had healed some. It was down to a shallow cut and the bleeding had stopped completely. All that was left of the larger wound was some dry blood that really needed to be washed off.

I realised that by tomorrow afternoon it would probably be down to a scab or just some bruising. That was pretty good! Maybe I didn't even need to put on those bandages.

A quick check over of my arm and leg wound found my arm reduced to lots of bruising and my leg to a small bruise. Nice.

After my refreshing shower, I decided to unpack my bag. All the new webbing went into a nearby desk drawer. I would have to remind myself to take at least half the stack to school the first opportunity I got. There was plenty there so it should last me at least a month depending on the type of crime I would fight.

I took all the cans to the kitchen and placed them in the cupboard before stuffing my bag in the corner of my room. My briefcase went under my bed until I needed it.

All done with that I decided I would kill some time by watching TV. Maybe I would get to see myself freefalling? Actually, I wanted to hear more about what happened with the whole clone fight rather than me falling. Like, how was it resolved? Did those clones I recruited for help keep on helping with the fight or did they decided to hide out once their unofficial leader left. Wait that made me sound like a jerk. I wasn't really a leader and I shouldn't try to claim that title.

Anyway, after flicking through channels I eventually found the news. Would you look at that, they were talking about me. I wasn't exactly surprised. And by the blurry visual in the background, it looked like they were talking about me freefalling. Aw, I really wanted to find out how the clone fight ended.

"It doesn't look like any parachute I've seen before. They didn't pull a string on their bag either, they just lifted their arms and it appeared. I think it was the new Spider-man." The female anchor said.

"I would say I agree but didn't you see the explosion? He probably died." The male anchor replied.

"Yes but there was no body. He could have easily gone on some weird adventure. You know how superheroes are these days." The female anchor argued.

I had had enough of weird adventures and I didn't want to find out what they thought. Not for the time being at least. I switched over to another channel before I got up to find my laptop. That would tell me what I wanted to know.

As I rummaged through my bedroom trying to find my laptop I heard the front doors lock click. I stopped what I was doing and went to see who it was. And there was Mum and Dad walking in with shopping bags in their hands.

I was frozen, I couldn't move from where I was standing. This was everything I wanted, and I was too nervous to even walk up and give them a hug. They were unpacking everything when finally Dad noticed me standing there.

His eyes widened into saucers and he elbowed Mum. She looked up with a frown on her face but when she looked over to where I was standing she froze too. Everyone was so still that if it wasn't for the TV you would be able to hear a pin drop in here.

"I'm back," I whispered, reaching up to rub the back of my neck.

That seemed to break them out of their spell and both of them rushed around and pulled me into a big hug. I squeezed back as hard as I thought I could. I was home.

 **I was home.**

We stayed like that for several minutes before I had enough courage to speak again.

I stepped back and saw that both of them had been crying. My own eyes stung, and I realised that I had been crying too.

"I… I have a lot to tell you." I started with. Mum looked down at the ground while Dad tried to change his face into something reassuring and comforting. I fiddled with my hands, trying to think of the best way to phrase that I was Spider-man.

Do I tell them, or do I show them? If I tell them they might doubt me and then I'll have to show them anyway. Or do I start with my injuries? Do I tell them about my adventure first or after I've told them I'm Spider-man. Maybe they'll kick me out right away and I won't have the chance to explain myself…

There was no 'best' way to do this, and all of them could end with me on the streets. I hated that I had to expect that I might be kicked out of the house. I wouldn't know how they would react until I did something, so I steeled myself with a few deep breaths.

I walked towards a wall and in a few seconds, I was standing on the ceiling with two shocked faces staring at me. It took a minute before someone spoke again, and in that time I awkwardly stood on the ceiling waiting for a bad reaction.

Mum looked at Dad, Dad looked at Mum. I looked down at my feet which were still stuck to the ceiling.

Finally Mum spoke up. "We... we knew."


End file.
